Wrecking the Timeline
by Forthwith16
Summary: It seemed like such a good idea. Go back in time. Slay Grima with his own power. Rid the world of him forever. It should have worked. It even did work. Once. Sort of. Well, not very well at all, really. Still, everything worked out in the end minus the whole not being born thing. But time travel is a capricious thing. As if two fell dragons wasn't enough to shake the world…
1. Premonition - A Fated Rematch

Lucina was anxious. She admitted as much to herself. Giddy with excitement as well, but nervous nonetheless for the upcoming reunion.

"Representing Khan Flavia as Eastern Champion is Prince Chrom Lowell of Ylisse!"

It had been months since Lucina had seen her father's younger self, and that had been a passing thing full of lies. In hindsight, she really had no reason to be so secretive with him. Nothing she did could cause a paradox. She hadn't expected to even have a chance to be born again, so giving her true name presented no problems. If she and her friends had been given more time to plan before leaping through time, maybe she would have acted differently.

Across the arena, Lucina took stock of the early Shepherds standing alongside her father. They all looked so young and inexperienced. The weight of war after war had not yet settled upon their shoulders. The stark absence of Robin beside Chrom sent a brief wave of guilt through Lucina, but she banished the feeling. She'd not made peace with her actions, not truly, but dwelling on them served no purpose.

Still, Lucina had to wonder who her father would fall in love with in this timeline. Maybe things would change less than she expected. Naga _had_ said that time preferred to flow unaltered, but the timeline already felt, well, completely thrown out the window. No _major_ events had yet changed, but today would be the first.

After the crowd had quieted and the appropriate boasts had been made, the master of ceremonies turned to the western gate that Lucina stood behind. The men operating it took that as their cue to raise it for her entrance.

Lucina gave herself one last look over. Falchion hung at her belt. Her Fire Emblem was properly affixed to her upper left arm. Her hair was tied up and in no danger of falling loose or into her eyes. The straps of her armor were all suitably tightened. Yes, she was ready.

"Representing Khan Basilio as Western Champion is Lady Lucina Lowell of Plegia!"

A frown briefly marred Lucina's face. _Technically_ , she wasn't even a princess in this timeline, let alone the Exalt, but the disregard for her birthright still rankled. At least she had her Plegian heritage to fall back on, pale reflection though it was. No one would contest that but Validar, if Grima had told him who she was, and perhaps Gangrel, but she would drive Falchion through either man's heart before he got even a single word out.

As Lucina stepped into the arena, she watched her father's reaction carefully. There was curiosity there at first mixed with a healthy dose of anger, and that was to be expected. He _was_ here to secure military assistance against Plegia, after all, not to mention the obvious other matter.

But then Chrom's gaze fell onto the Fire Emblem upon Lucina's arm, and his face settled into shock.

"Oh, hello again!" Lissa called out. Apparently, she recognised Lucina from her rescue all those months ago even without the mask. "Is Robin with you?"

Lucina hesitated to answer. Lissa seemed…remarkably at ease with this situation. That was a thought to consider later.

"She'll not be joining us for this fight."

Lissa pouted but said nothing more on the subject. Instead, Vaike called out, "Hey! Where's your back up? You don't think you can–"

Chrom thrust a hand out to silence Vaike. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "How did you get ahold of the Fire Emblem?"

"My mother won it off Naga in a card game." Lucina struggled to hide her smile at the reaction that pulled from her father.

After recovering, Chrom said, "You must know I don't believe you."

Lucina shrugged. "If you choose to believe I stole it, that's your problem. Regardless–" She drew Falchion and smirked. "–nothing says a divine artifact cannot be forged more than once." A true statement, although a misleading one.

"That sword! It can't be…"

"Draw your blade, Your Highness," Lucina said. She had best get this started before she indulged in too many of her mother's bad habits.

"Milord," Frederick said. Not too long ago, his words would have been too quiet for Lucina to pick up on, but that was before she'd completed the Awakening Rite. Being a demigoddess had more than a few advantages. "We can question her _extensively_ after our match."

Vaike spoke much louder. "Yeah, Chrom! This girl won't be able to refuse after she gets Vaiked."

Lissa snickered at Vaike's use of his own name as a verb, and the laughter set off more than one other Shepherd.

"Shut up!"

"Very well," Chrom relented. He turned his attention back to Lucina. "Vaike did bring up a fair point. It would be dishonorable for us to fight you without your allies and might bring the legitimacy of our bout into question."

"Allies?" Lucina casually said. Taunting and arrogance were beneath her, but for the first time in years, she'd been having _fun_. It was an unexpected perk of her trip through time. If she accomplished nothing else, she'd at least learned to laugh again.

"Yes," Chrom said. "We will wait for them to arrive."

Chuckling, Lucina considered her options. She _had_ been encouraged to show off. She might as well indulge a little before meeting her father in a fair test of skill. The thought felt almost foreign in her mind, but she embraced it and the power surging through her entire being nonetheless. When she'd first come back in time, she never would have done this. But then she'd been so very different back then…

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm going to post this entire short story at once, so I'll be brief here. While I wouldn't go so far as to call this an AU, Lucina knows more upon her return to the past than her canon counterpart.

This will have four chapters (for now, at least) and is largely about Lucina. I first wrote it as a oneshot drama inspired by a few other fics, but I kept thinking of more and more jokes I could throw in, and it grew and grew. I may come back to this in the future and continue it, but it's a fairly self-contained storyline for Lucina.

If you're waiting on my other works, this has been plot bunny that I needed to write to get out of my head and properly focus on other things. Progress has been made, but not as much as I'd hoped. Anyway, enjoy.


	2. Prologue - Reunited

Lucina flew out of the tear in time and burst straight into action. For reasons unknown, her Aunt Lissa stood alone pinned with her back against a boulder. She had nothing but a fragile staff in her hands to wield against the approaching risen.

 _This is stupid! This is stupid! This is really, really stupid!_ Lucina screamed at herself as she dashed forward. She raised Falchion and draped it across her back, bracing it against a shoulder.

Lucina ducked under the attacking risen's arm. Her free hand slammed against the boulder behind Lissa for balance. And then with only an instant to spare came the ring of steel upon steel.

The contest of strength and dexterity continued. The risen fought to bring its ax down into flesh, but Lucina kept it away with the flat of her blade. She doubted her strength would last as long as the undead abomination's, however.

Just as Lucina was about to yell at Lissa to _move_ _already_ , she noticed her aunt's eyes shift to the side. She glanced the same way expecting danger only to see her father.

Lucina's grip faltered. She'd known he would be alive here, but this was too soon.

And he was just standing there like an idiot!

"Help!" Lucina said far more sharply than she'd wanted. _Great. My first word to this version of Father, and it's to berate him. Not a good sign of things to come._

The risen turned its attention to Chrom and let up on the pressure of its attack.

Lucina smirked. _Big mistake._ She spun in place and brought her sword to bare upon her foe. In time with her father's own attack, they tore the risen in two. It dissolved into a black mist within moments.

 _Now that's more like it._ With no other risen in the immediate area, Lucina allowed herself a moment to indulge in the glorious feeling of rightness.

Off in the distance but nearer than her resolve had strength for, Lucina noticed a burst of deadly orange light through the trees. She would recognise that magic anywhere. Only one person at this place in this time could conceivably wield it.

Lucina sheathed Falchion but tightened her grip on its hilt to still her nervous hand.

"Quite an entrance," Chrom said. The shock of hearing his voice forced Lucina's attention to return to her present company. "What's your name?"

 _Lucina!_ said girl shouted within her own mind. She so desperately wanted to hear her named called with fatherly affection once more. Even gratitude given to a stranger she would take. Yet it would not be for the best. The more clues she gave, the more she would slip. The more she slipped, the less likely she would find the strength she needed.

Thankfully, a distraction arrived. Frederick rode in on horseback in full armor.

"Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?"

"Frederick!" Lissa cried in delight. A moment passed. Clearly worried, she asked, "Where's Robin?"

With a sigh of relief, Lucina stepped into the shadows to observe for now. She needed a moment of peace to mentally prepare herself to face the trial to come.

"She will follow shortly. She's cleaning the forest of these creatures." Frederick looked both Lissa and Chrom up and down from head to toe and back again. "No one is injured, then? Thank the gods…"

"Thank the masked man who saved me!"

Lucina quickly and silently pulled her head back into the shadows before anyone could spot her.

"If it wasn't for him, I'd be…" Lissa trailed off in confusion. "Hey, where did he go?"

Frederick said, "We can worry about him later _after_ we put these…things…to the blade."

A crackling bolt of thoron magic launched through the clearing within arm's reach of Lucina's face. The strangled cry of a risen followed. Her vision returned in slow blinks, and the ringing in her ears lifted.

"No need." The soft musical lilt had returned to the familiar voice courtesy of Lucina's trip through time, but the otherworldliness underlying it remained as a faint echo of what it would one day become. "That was the last of them."

As if a spell had lifted, Lucina trembled and took a slow, shuddering breath. That had been the very magic that had robbed her father of his life delivered with the same deadly aim and precision. Robin was clearly as powerful and accurate in her youth as she had been in the future.

 _No, that can't be. It's impossible. She must have grown even stronger as she aged._ What a terrifying concept. Some small part of Lucina felt vindicated for idolizing Robin for half of her life. That woman was a monster in more ways than one.

Over Lissa's cheering, Chrom said, "You have our thanks again for the assistance. These horrors were no easy opponents."

"You're welcome, but quite frankly, I enjoyed the opportunity to cut loose with some of my more destructive spells."

"We could really use someone of your skill in the Shepherds. Have you given any further thought to our offer?"

"No, not yet."

Frederick was frowning. Lucina knew without looking, and the tone of his voice only confirmed it. "For an amnesiac and someone so young, you know a great deal about magic."

Lucina blinked. _Amnesia? That's…unexpected. But useful._ It also didn't _directly_ contradict anything she knew from the future, although it seemed extraordinarily odd that no one had ever mentioned it to her.

 _There's no way_ I _could have caused this with my mere presence in this timeline…right?_ If she had, then what else had her trip through time affected?

Lucina shook her head. _Thoughts for another day._ It was a silly idea anyway.

As the other four continued their conversation, Lucina set about formulating her plan. She was a bad actress and at best an adequate liar. She knew that. She would have to act quickly and trade as few words as possible.

Once she was ready, Lucina took a deep breath to prepare herself. She let it out and then walked into the clearing, casual but alert, as if she'd just returned from searching the forest for more risen.

"Oh, there he is!" Lissa said, rushing forward to join Lucina. "I never got to thank you for before. So…thank you." Somewhat awkwardly, she extended a hand. "You were very brave."

Although unappreciative of the distraction, Lucina placed a kiss upon Lissa's hand and said, "It was no trouble, Your Highness."

Chrom approached next. "You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom."

Lissa delivered a soft jab to Chrom's stomach. "She recognised me, you doofus. She knows who you are."

Feigning injury, Chrom wheezed, "Might I ask your name?"

 _Three… Two…_ The sound of soft, graceful footsteps ceased. Lucina carefully raised her gaze as she said, "You may call me…" She paused for effect. "Robin?"

"Robin?" Chrom asked. He glanced back at the woman in question. "How curious."

Lucina shook her head. "No, that's not – Robin, what are you doing here?"

"You know her?" Lissa and Chrom asked at the same time Robin said, "You know me?"

"Of course I do. You're supposed to be investigating the risen further south."

"The risen?" Robin echoed.

Frederick narrowed his brows in suspicion, of course, but Chrom merely asked, "Is that what these things are called?"

Lucina nodded. "Someone powerful is dabbling in necromancy. Lady Tiki sent us to investigate. She wants to know who's playing with the Fell Dragon's power and why."

All eyes but Robin's widened at that claim. So long as her story was not examined too closely, Lucina could make this work. She'd spent enough time in the Voice of Naga's company to bluff her way through this.

"How can we help?"

Lucina fought not to slap a hand to her face. _Oh, yes. I'd forgotten._ To put it succinctly, Chrom had been a naive, trusting, kind-hearted, lovable fool to the day he died. It came as no wonder that Robin had almost exclusively handled the politics necessary to bring about the man's vision for his reign.

"Milord," Frederick said. "We needs must return to Ylisstol to report recent events."

Sparing Chrom the necessity of having to make a hard decision, Robin said, "He's right. With monsters roaming around and…Plegia, I think it was, trying to start a war, you should report to your ruler. I thank you for your company, but it appears fortune smiles upon me today. I have a lead to recovering my lost memories now."

"Lost memories?" Lucina said, feigning ignorance.

With a nod, Robin said, "I'll explain later."

"Are you sure about this?" Chrom asked Robin. Perhaps he was not _too_ naive, then, if he felt uncomfortable leaving a young woman alone in the hands of a strange – if helpful – young man.

"I can take care of myself," Robin said.

 _Such an understatement,_ Lucina thought, remembering her close brush with a thoron bolt.

"Well, if you're sure," Chrom said.

While Lucina waited off to the side, the group of four traded goodbyes for some time with Lissa ultimately extracting a promise from Robin to come visit Ylisstol soon and ask for them at the palace. Robin took a moment to write a letter for Lissa to open later, for whatever reason.

Once it was down to just the two of them, Lucina said, "Lost memories?"

Robin shrugged. "I can remember one or two odd things, and obviously I still know how to cast magic, but everything else…" She raised a hand to her head and then drew it away, her fingers uncurling as she did. "Gone. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to hear my life story."

"Uh-huh…" _That would be a little more complicated than you might expect._ "Well, we have a long walk ahead of us. We should head south to see if you lost your memory before or after you finished your task."

"Those shepherds found me near Southtown, if it helps."

"Probably after, then," Lucina said after a moment of pretended thought. "Still, we should make sure."

"Very well. I have nothing better to do regardless. Lead on… You know, I never got your name."

Lucina hesitated. She should lie. She really should. If her plan went wrong, the information should not be out there. The plan would be easier to execute behind a persona. She needed all the emotional distance she could create. She should lie.

"Lucina."

Murdering one of your idols in the coldest and most pragmatic of blood was not supposed to be easy.

"A lovely name for a beautiful girl."

That sounded…off somehow, but Lucina focused on the obvious. "You can tell?"

"Of course I can," Robin said. "Unless you're expecting a fight, you should let your hair down and take off that mask."

She really shouldn't.

Lucina pulled the pin from her hair and shook it until it fell in soft locks over her shoulders and down her back. The mask left her face and came to rest in a pocket.

Matricide was not supposed to be easy.

With a heartrending smile, Robin said, "Much better. Shall we head out, then?"

No words came to Lucina, and her lips refused to part regardless, so she merely nodded her assent. Together, they walked south.

* * *

"No way. You're lying."

"How dare you!" Lucina said in mock offense. "I'd never."

"You expect me to believe I'm a princess?"

"No, you're second in line to Plegia's throne. There's a difference. I believe the current king is your…third cousin twice removed, but the last war between Plegia and Ylisse destroyed most of the Plegian royal family. Beyond that, however, Plegian inheritance is…odd. The king still has closer relations, but you have 'stronger blood'. You actually have a stronger claim to the throne than your father, but his will supersede yours for reasons I don't understand well enough to explain."

"Huh." After a moment to absorb that, Robin asked, "So what are my parents like?"

"No offense, but your father is a monster that needs to die."

Lucina felt like a monster herself right now. She'd not told a single lie, but she _had_ carefully pruned her knowledge of Robin's past for information that would both make Chrom mistrust her if shared and keep her from seeking out Validar. Just in case. Nonetheless, she continued.

"He's the head priest of the Grimleal. Among other atrocities, they abduct innocents to use as sacrifices to the Fell Dragon, Grima."

"Oh." Rather awkwardly, Robin added, "Well, that sucks."

"I can relate." Not letting _that_ topic linger, Lucina pressed on. "As for your mother, I actually don't know much about her. I do know she ran away with you when you were young to protect you from your father, so I assume she's a good person."

"I'll have to find her and meet her, then."

The pair entered into clearing offering a view above the forest canopy ahead.

"It's getting late," Lucina commented as she eyed the sun sinking low on the horizon. "We should probably set up camp."

"Sounds good. I happen to have a lot of delicious bear meat for the two of us."

 _By the gods, I wish I'd packed my own rations. Why are both of my parents like this? Aunt Lissa never was._ It was one thing to eat bear because you has nothing else; it was another thing entirely to enjoy it. Even so, Lucia plastered a smile onto her face. "Thank you. I'll gather firewood for tonight, then."

"Perfect! I'll get started on our campfire."

Setting aside the few personal items she had but didn't need, Lucina left for further into the woods and set about her task. Although it kept her busy, her mind refused to lie idle.

 _I shouldn't have talked to her. Not that I can stop now. She'll get suspicious. Stupid, stupid girl. Why did you talk to her? You knew that was a bad idea. Next you're going to start making excuses again. You know what that got you last time._

Lucina was still berating herself when she returned to camp with a massive stack of burnable wood. As expected, a hearty helping of preserved bear meat awaited her alongside a roaring fire. As did a smiling, proud Robin, of course, because she just _needed_ another reason to feel like a monster.

"So how is it?" Robin soon asked.

Lucina swallowed the tough, oddly flavored bear meat in her mouth and managed a weak smile. "As…good as my mother used to make."

Robin hesitated a moment. Then seeming to decide against something, she asked, "High praise, I hope?"

"Only the highest, I assure you."

As Robin scarfed down the rest of her meal – and had she always been such an unrefined eater? – she collapsed onto her back to look up at the stars. She shifted to scratch her rear, and despite herself, Lucina chuckled.

 _Living at court clearly did much for Mother's manners._

"What?" Robin asked defensively.

Lucina quirked an eyebrow in silent accusation.

"We're in the middle of the woods, and it's just us girls. Who cares?"

"A fair point," Lucina admitted. "Still, you might be a queen someday. It wouldn't hurt to maintain a little decorum at all times." How very strange it felt to use the same words Robin had said to her so many years ago in the future.

"I'll worry about that when I'm the queen."

Lucina sighed despite her smile. _Like mother, like daughter, I suppose._ And that was worrying in more ways than one.

"Hey, Lucina?"

"Hmm?"

"Where are you from?"

"I was born and raised in Ylisstol. Since I left, though, I've never really had a place to call home."

"And how did we meet?"

"Through a very laborious process." Lucina mentally pat herself on the back for her rare success at wordplay. "I don't much remember or wish to speak of it."

"Hmm… In that case…what…is your favorite color?"

Lucina swallowed the bear she'd been nursing in small enough bites to avoid her tongue. "My favorite color?"

Robin nodded.

"Well…" As a child it'd been blue, but it'd been years since she'd thought about such things. "Orange, I suppose. The color of a sunrise."

"Hmm… Not that I have much experience with them, but I think I prefer sunsets. What's your favorite flower?"

"Daisies." They'd grown all over the palace when Lucina was young. A private joke at her father's expense, Robin had called them. The story of Chrom's proposal had soon followed, how he'd used flowers instead of a ring. Those were better days.

Lucina noticed the knowing smile on Robin's face. "What?"

"Nothing. What are your parents like?"

Not wanting to touch _that_ with so much as a ten foot pole, Lucina said, "What's with all the questions?"

"Well, you told me all about me. Now I want to know all about you again. I feel like it's been thousands of years since I last saw you."

Lucina frowned. "Fine. But tomorrow. We should get some rest. If you're done eating, I'll take the first watch."

Robin pouted in disappointment, but Lucina stood firm. "Bed."

The pout changed into a more uncertain, hesitant look, but Robin ultimately agreed. "Fine, fine." She pulled up the hood of her cloak and made herself comfortable on the ground. A little later, she added a quiet, "Goodnight, Lucina," more whispered than said.

"Goodnight," Lucina quietly echoed back. It felt _really_ weird to be on the other side of that exchange – uncomfortable, even. She breathed in slowly and let the mounting tension flow away.

And then she waited.

When needed, Lucina rose to add another log to the fire or poke it with a stick to let more air in. Tending to the flame helped pass the time, but the night was too quiet. Without the constant threat of risen attacks, all she had was her day to reflect upon and her gruesome task to contemplate – gruesome, but necessary. It had to be done. It _had to._ Yet today had been one mistake after another.

How much of Robin was real? How much was the Fell Dragon? Had she ever cared about her daughter? Her husband? Where did the act end and the monster begin? She _felt_ so real. Today had been a treasure stolen from the Fell Dragon's hoard which Lucina knew would never part from her heart. But she'd been burnt hard in the future and made far too many excuses following that foolish, sentimental thing. Besides, what was one life and one girl's misery compared to the fate of the entire world?

"Robin?"

No answer came. Robin's breathing held the easy, even cadence of sleep.

Lucina rose. She silently drew Falchion. It was time. If she delayed any longer, she doubted she would have the strength to go through with it.

A deep breath.

This was what she'd come here to do. It was only Lucina's usual run of luck that it came so soon. She'd lost so many friends to get her here. The few she'd come back with had been scattered across time and space. Her world was all but dead. This one could still be saved.

It had to be done.

Lucina stood over Robin, one foot on each side of her, and positioned Falchion directly above her heart.

"I'm surprised."

Without faltering, Lucina pressed her sword threateningly down onto Robin's chest so that the tip just drew blood. She locked away her emotions deep inside and let the queen of a dead nation take her place. "Don't move." The command came cold and regal with more years of practice than anyone her age should have.

Robin's eyes opened. "I knew you lied to us, but to jump straight to murder?"

"I didn't lie to you. Everything I told you is true."

 _Just do it. Don't talk to her, you stupid girl._

"I know. I meant our initial encounter. Every word was a lie meant to separate me from the Shepherds."

Lucina said nothing. Robin was right, after all.

"Would you at least tell me why I'm to die? I can only assume it's personal."

"You…" Despite every fiber of her being screaming at her to just get this over with and stay silent, Lucina said, "You killed my father and stole my mother from me."

"Oh."

"'Oh'?" Lucina repeated. "Is that it? Is that all you have to say? 'Oh'?"

Robin shrugged slightly. "I don't remember doing it, so I don't believe an apology would be very sincere. I'm sorry it happened, though, for what it's worth."

"You…"

"Do you know why I did it?"

"Why?" Why did the Fell Dragon do anything? "Because you could."

"I feel like I'm missing some important context. How did I even end up in a position to hurt the Ylissean royal family?"

Lucina silently cursed. She never should have removed her mask. Robin had always, _always_ been observant. She'd noticed the Mark of Naga on Lucina's left eye. That meant she'd no doubt noticed the mark on the right eye as well.

"You're the Avatar of Grima," Lucina coldly replied. "My family's penultimate enemy next to Grima himself. Your cursed blood allows Grima to exert his will upon this world."

"And if you kill me, that stops, I imagine." To Lucina's nod, Robin added, "I see. Although, come to think of it, my amnesia might be a sign that he's moved on to a new avatar. I might not have any memories to begin with."

"Perhaps," Lucina allowed. "Perhaps not. Perhaps he will return for you again. Perhaps you _are_ Grima, or at least his consciousness in mortal form."

"All possibilities, I admit. Do you intend to kill every potential avatar?"

A brief pause occurred as Lucina considered whether it would be safe to admit that. But then it was an obvious enough guess, so she nodded.

"Does that include yourself?"

Lucina flinched and closed her right eye in a vain attempt to hide the truth, yet she nodded all the same. "I will be the last to bear the curse. Once I'm gone, Grima's only paths to power" – if he survived repeated immolation by his own cursed fire – "are…elaborate."

"Wouldn't your Exalt bloodline protect you and your descendants from Grima's control? There _is_ such a thing as being overly thorough."

"I don't wish to put that to the test. Besides, no one will miss me."

"Were I alive at the time, I would."

Lucina very carefully _did not_ flinch.

"However, that would be a contradiction in terms and hence pointless to contemplate. But please tell me, where exactly did you come from? I'm very curious. The portal you arrived through had magic built into it that still has my head spinning even at this very moment. Some of it looked dedicated to temporal effects…"

"Shut up!" Lucina pushed down harder with Falchion, careful not to pierce too deeply before she was ready. A premature death would be a disaster.

Robin closed her eyes and let out a long, wheezing sigh. "I see. I'd wondered how we were related. Our bone structure is too similar for coincidence, all things considered."

Lucina said nothing. If no one explicitly made the claim, they could keep pretending. _She_ could keep pretending.

"This won't cause a paradox, will it?"

Seeing nothing to lose from the admission, Lucina said, "Time travel doesn't work that way. My future…such as it is…will never change. But this timeline's will."

"Good."

A moment passed.

"Well, you'd best get on with it."

A pale blue glow brought Lucina's attention to her face, and she felt unacknowledged tears be wiped away from it. The light faded, but not the tremble in her hand.

Robin could use magic without a tome.

"That hurts." Robin cringed and shrunk away from the shifting sword piercing her flesh. "Please make it quick, my little light."

Lucina's knees shook in screaming protest. This Robin shouldn't have known that name! It wasn't fair! She forced her voice to steady itself through sheer force of will. "Any last requests?"

With only a couple days of memory, Robin visibly racked her brain for anything relevant. Eventually, she said, "Try to be happy."

Lucina's gave a tight nod. She didn't trust herself to say anything but one solitary word.

"Ignis."

Grima's cursed flame enveloped Falchion in black fire, casting the night into greater darkness.

Lucina steeled herself. She threw aside her last chance to turn back and plunged Falchion deep into Robin's chest in silence. Her cry of pain came weak and abrupt.

The flames made short work of her.

Ashes.

Ashes everywhere.

Nothing else remained, nothing but the numbness and the lie. There would be no happiness for Lucina; she deserved none.

"Why?" The question came out as a half-stifled sob.

Why did Robin quietly accept everything? Why did she go without a fight? Their last and final conversation had been a battle all of its own, yet she'd never once asked to live, never even questioned Lucina's word. Why submit to what she protested so strongly without a physical struggle? Why?

"Why, Mother?" Lucina's voice cracked. "Why?"

Falchion fell to the ground as heavily as Lucina collapsed to her knees. A shuddering breath escaped her as she fought not to break. Her clothes were coated in what remained of her mother, and her hands – she could barely see them, painted black as they were against the night. None of that could ever be washed away. Even should she turn back time once more, the stain would forever remain upon her very being.

Time passed. How much, Lucina knew not. Only the growing emptiness inside marked it's passage.

"A good plan, I admit."

Lucina's head snapped up in disbelief. Before she could escape the shock, Falchion flew through the air into Robin's waiting hand. As soon as the blade made contact, she hissed in pain.

And then Robin tossed Falchion through a portal to who knew where.

"Slay Grima with his own power and kill him once and for all. Not bad. Given everything he did to you, I can at least understand where you're coming from. Fortunately for me, it didn't work."

"You!" Lucina screamed in rage. She shot to her feet and withdrew her copy of Robin's personal tome. She might not be the greatest mage in the world, but neither was she a helpless novice.

Grima's eyebrows rose. "You kept a memento of me?"

And those few words shattered what little self-control Lucina had left. She screamed the incantation for a dark spell and let the power of _this timeline's_ Grima flow through her.

Grima casually raised a hand and countered the effects of the spell. "Control yourself, Lucina. One might think you wished to harm your mother."

A fireball to the face was Lucina's only reply to that.

"No incantation?" Grima said as he sidestepped the fire, observing it carefully as it sailed past. "You've been practicing, I see. Yes, I'm very proud. But perhaps now I could have a word?"

"You are not my mother!" Lucina bellowed as she charged forward to grapple. Robin had never been a squishy mage, let alone Grima, but long range wasn't working.

A fist flew.

Grima knocked it away.

Lucina swept a leg out to knock Grima off his feet. The strike connected, but it did nothing. He just floated in place unaffected with a smug smirk.

Another fist. This one Grima caught in a terrifyingly tight grip.

"Personally, I wouldn't recommend getting into a fist fight with a dragon, let alone a goddess."

"Be silent!" Lucina ordered as she unleashed a fireball at point blank range.

Grima's eyes widened. He released Lucina's hand and delivered a lightning fast kick that sent her flying.

Even so, Lucina finished her spell. The fireball exploded on contact in a burst of scorching heat, light, and smoke. Through the pain of Grima's last attack, she let out a triumphant cry as she rose to her feet, yet there was no time to delay. She prepared her tome once more and continued fire.

The first of Lucina's second volley struck true, but the second veered off at a right angle as if struck by a bat. The third followed, as did the fourth. The smoke and fire obscured her vision, but she knew Grima was responsible for the odd angles.

The fifth fireball unexpectedly missed everything and flew off into the forest. Before Lucina could contemplate that, a hand reached out from behind her and stole her tome.

"No! Give that back!"

But it was already gone. Probably to wherever Falchion had vanished.

"Sit," Grima commanded.

Lucina threw a punch. Not that it did her any good. Grima caught it and squeezed hard enough to nearly break her fingers.

" **Sit.** " This time Lucina almost obeyed on instinct. Grima's expression twisted into the exact same disappointed frown and stare as after the celebration of her eighth birthday.

Regardless, Lucina had no choice in the matter. A spell soon pinned her to the ground. No amount of struggling would free her now.

It was over.

"Why?" Lucina asked. "Isn't one timeline enough for you?"

Grima ignored the question. "I confess I honestly don't know how to feel about your attempts at matricide. I've spent years – decades worth of sleepless nights trying to understand exactly what you were thinking, where we stood, and if I'd done something wrong to cause it. But now…

"On some level I'm proud of your resolve. I'm shocked you went through with it again. This destroyed you last time. I genuinely expected you to reconsider and grow from the experience without me having to trick or beat you down and shame you into listening to get through your father's stubbornness. I thought I could keep this…stain from your soul. Maybe I should have just pinned you to the ground and started taking. You _might_ have listened. I don't know. I'm just…disappointed. In both of us. I thought I would handle this better, but I'm not. I thought… I don't know. I thought I raised you better than to sacrifice likely innocents without first seeking alternatives."

Lucina scoffed. In all that incoherent, rambling nonsense, she finally had something to respond to. "You're not my mother." She would have spat in Grima's face if she could, but with her luck it'd just pathetically dribble down her own.

"Oh, yes," Grima said. "Let me disabuse you of that notion. I am the Fell Dragon, Robin. Your mother."

Plants burned and trees crackled.

 _What?_

"Our timeline's Grima did, in fact, follow you back through time, but I'm not him. He attempted but failed to merge with my past self, resulting in the amnesia I acted out. When you killed my past self in her sleep, her half-formed bond with our Grima sent her consciousness crashing into mine, awakening me.

"The urge for my past self and I to join together was hard to resist, but she and I kept our existences separate and clung to each other for support. When your father ultimately struck our Grima down, he grew weak enough for me and her to supplant and destroy him. So satisfied, we finally allowed ourselves to merge and be at peace.

"Surprisingly, I survived. Then the next time some idiot managed to revive Grima, he got me instead. That didn't work out for him. I later leapt back through time, and now here I am."

One blink, then two. It didn't help.

"You're grounded, by the way."

Lucina fainted.

* * *

The world had turned into clouds. That was the only explanation for the heavenly feeling surrounding Lucina. Everything was so soft – soft, and warm, and smooth, and just perfect.

Lucina cracked open her eyes to find herself in a large, luxurious bed. The material was like nothing she'd ever felt before. And she was also in the middle of a half-burnt forest. How disconcerting.

Even stranger, Robin sat on one side of the bed above the covers with a peaceful smile on her face and a strange glowing box in one hand. From how her eyes moved, it looked almost as though she were reading.

Then last night came crashing back to the forefront of Lucina's mind. Could it be? Everything in her life had turned to tragedy. Why would the gods suddenly decide to smile upon her?

A little voice whispered, _Not the gods, just one single goddess._

It was too good to be true, and yet…

"Mo – Mother?"

Robin hummed in curiosity and turned to look at Lucina. "Oh, you're awake this time. Good morning." She waved her hand, and the small box in it vanished.

"I… Good morning."

"You can go back to sleep if you wish. We're not in any hurry."

Lucina almost accepted the offer. She was dreaming, and she wanted to keep dreaming.

"Is it really you?"

With a careless shrug, Robin said, "Grima won in our timeline. If I were him, I would need a very contrived reason not to have simply killed you already and been done with it. If that's not enough, well, he knows everything I knew from our original timeline, so there's nothing I can say to reassure you. I can certainly verify I've been to this timeline's future, however."

No, there was no need. Lucina believed everything. She cursed herself for being a damn fool like her father, but her heart had ahold of her now.

"Mother, I – I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to – to…"

Robin placed a hand over Lucina's. She coaxed it out of a fistful of blankets and intertwined their fingers.

"I know, Lucina. I know. I forgive you."

And that broke the dam. Lucina flung herself into her mother's embrace for the first time in years. All strength fled her as she sobbed into her mother's familiar cloak. She felt a hand softly stroke through her hair, and another curled around her back.

"Shh," Robin cooed. "Everything will be alright. We're together again. Mommy is a scary, evil dragon goddess now. She'll make everything better."

Lucina giggled, a pale, wet, shuddering, yet musical thing. By Naga it felt good to laugh again.

* * *

Lucina next awoke when the sun was high overhead after having cried herself to sleep in her mother's arms. When she opened her eyes, she found that strange glowing box in Robin's hand once more, although this time her mother's other hand drew lazy paths through her hair.

Curiosity now dominating her thoughts, Lucina asked, "What are you doing?"

"Reading. The future had a thriving, wonderful market for fiction."

And from the sound of it, no version of Grima had ever troubled anyone again. Lucina had a feeling she was going to like the picture of the future Robin would paint for her.

"That box is a book?"

"Not exactly," Robin said. She flicked her wrist, and it was gone again. "And you don't get to play with my future tech yet. You're still grounded."

Lucina pouted as best as she remembered how to.

Robin quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine," Lucina sighed, conceding defeat. "How do you…" She made the flicking motion.

"Oh, in about five-hundred years, we learn how to fold space with magic for storage. It's a very useful trick I'll teach you later."

 _Five-hundred years…_ She dreaded to ask, but Lucina had to know. "How long?"

"I was resurrected 2303 years from now. I slept through most of the wait in a sort of lethargic haze."

"I'm sorry," Lucina whispered.

"And I'm sorry for not being strong enough to fight off Grima's domination over my being."

"That…seems unfair to have to apologise for."

"Nonetheless, I failed you, your father, and everyone. I'm sorry I wasn't a goddess yet."

Lucina laughed weakly. "You've grown a rather large ego, haven't you?"

"Guilty and not ashamed."

Mother and daughter exchanged smiles.

"I missed this so much," Lucina said. "I never knew if any of the time we spent together was…real."

"Every moment. I spent years telling my past self all about you. It just about drove Grima mad."

Lucina smothered a laugh at the absurd imagery that conjured in her mind.

"Well, madder," Robin added. "That and gushing over your father and how good he was with his sword."

"Mother!" Lucina wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I _do not_ need to hear about what you and Father get up to behind closed doors."

Robin giggled at Lucina's expense without a hint of shame on her face. "Oh, that reminds me." She opened a portal. From it, she withdrew her spellbook and Falchion. The latter she handled gingerly with a blanket. "Here are these back."

Lucina gleefully hugged Falchion to her chest, the last memento she had of her father. The spellbook she regarded with a questioning look. "That's yours."

"I don't need it anymore. You'll outgrow it in a few years, too, but for now, make use of it."

Nodding, Lucina happily reclaimed the tome for herself. Despite her past uncertainties regarding its previous owner, it had always served her well.

"Lucina," Robin began. "About last night. I… It's been a long time since… It's no excuse, but I picked up a lot of…habits over the course of turning myself into a legitimate figure of worship. I'm not sure what I should have done, but I know I shouldn't have let you get as far as you did. I don't think I can apologize enough, but I'm sorry. If I ever go off on some sanctimonious test of character again no matter how I internally justify it, please bludgeon me with Falchion or something."

"I…" Not sure what to say but wanting to avoid thinking about her varyingly successful attempts at matricide, Lucina simply said, "Alright."

Although she looked skeptical of Lucina's agreement, Robin allowed it a pass. "By the way," she said, "I played with your fell blood while you were sleeping. I couldn't break the link to either Grima, but your connection to me is by far the dominant one now."

Surprise and relief rushed through Lucina in equal measure. "Thank you." No words could truly express the gratitude she felt, but the look on Robin's face said she understood perfectly.

"I did have to strengthen our bond to do so, though, and also… Well, just be careful not to burn everything down. Borrowing my power will come much easier to you now."

Curious, Lucina asked, "What was that also?"

Robin hesitated.

"I won't be mad." The gods certainly knew Lucina had no right to be.

After a moment longer, Robin asked, "What was your relationship with Naga like?"

"Naga?" Robin nodded, and Lucina bit her lip. "It's…complicated. She sent me back in time, which implies she trusts me quite a lot, but she's made no secret of her disapproval of some of my choices and her disdain for my…heritage."

"Did you perform the Awakening?" Robin pressed.

"I did, but not with the complete Fire Emblem."

Robin breathed out a sigh of relief and mumbled, "Sounds about right."

"Why do you ask?"

"Naga has a strong aversion to interfering personally with mortal affairs, but she responds to direct attacks on herself. I was trying to figure out exactly how angry she is with me."

Lucina stared dumbly at Robin.

"Did she not explain?"

When Lucina shook her head, Robin muttered something angrily under her breath before elaborating.

"A successful execution of the Awakening Rite would have bound you to Naga as Grima did to me. You merge your soul into hers and become a demigoddess. She's much nicer about it than Grima, however, and is unlikely to seal away your consciousnesses to use your body for her own purposes."

" _That's_ what the rite was supposed to do?" Lucina asked, aghast.

"How do you think I stole Grima's godhood? I crushed his consciousnesses when he fell down to my level and took full control over our shared soul."

"I… I see…" Lucina weakly said. "So when you changed my fell blood…"

"I may have gotten into a struggle with Naga over your soul. You were more tightly bound than I expected, but as it turned out, not irreversibly so. Both Grimas joined the fight soon enough, too. I managed to let those three duke it out amongst themselves while I quietly used the… Well, you should still be able to wield Falchion – the connection isn't _gone_ – but I ripped your soul away from Naga."

Lucina sat stunned trying to decide whether this was bad or good news. Eventually, she decided it was simply news. She shook her head as another thought occurred to her.

"Does this mean the Grimas know you're here?"

"Oh, definitely. But with any luck, they'll have recognized me only as another Fell Dragon from even further into the future and not contest me again over your soul."

Grima did seem the sort who would never believe he'd not only been defeated and killed but also taken over by a soul he'd subjugated. Speaking of whom, however…

"How worried should I be about our Grima running about unchecked?" Lucina asked.

"Not too much," Robin said. "Time travel is _exhausting_. If he's anywhere near as tired as I am – and he must be, considering how he hid in the shadows last time – we won't have to worry about a divine rampage anytime soon. Unfortunately, the same is true of me, so I can't solve our problems with a snap of my fingers."

 _Wouldn't that have been nice?_ "I'll settle for him being depowered for now. What happened to your past self?"

"I arrived in this time after Grima but before you. Time travel is a complex, imprecise process, unfortunately, and I didn't want to risk entering a timeline without you by going back further. Grima attempted to merge with my past self but only managed to bind her and the part of him that was me together, resulting, strangely enough, in amnesia. I pulled my past self away from the Shepherds while they were in Southtown and laid out her options: merge, home, the Shepherds, or burn."

"You actually…"

Robin shrugged. "It worked out last time and would have spared me the discomfort of having to plot the death of…middle me, I guess, along with Grima. I might have another way to help her, but I'm unsure if it will work. Anyway, my youngest incarnation opted to return to your grandmother for now and rejoin the Shepherds later."

"So there are three of you now. That could get confusing."

"Just remember that I'm the smart, beautiful one, and we shouldn't have a problem."

Lucina chuckled. Yes, Robin most certainly had grown a large ego over her time as a goddess.

"I imagine you have a plan for us, Grandmaster."

Robin smirked. "Indeed. I had as much time to plot as I wanted in the future. Our first move will be to bring peace to our continent."

"Easier said than done," Lucina said with an expectant smile.

"Yet easier than you might think. Care to guess how?"

Lucina gnawed on her lip as she ruminated over the matter. "Well…you have a legitimate claim to the Plegian throne. If you became their queen, that would solve that problem."

"For a decade or two, perhaps, providing the usual suspects don't cause trouble before then. That will take time, however, and I would prefer a more lasting unity. Plegia is actually second on my list to deal with."

Lucina quirked her eyebrows.

"I did happen to once be the Queen of Ylisse, you know."

And then it hit Lucina. Within reason, Regna Ferox followed whoever was strongest and led best. Ylisse had an unattached and provably receptive prince. Plegia had a mad king just waiting to be usurped.

"You intend to become queen, queen consort, and the ruling khan."

It was bold. It was audacious. It was exactly the type of complete victory Robin would aim for.

"Mhm. I'm not yet sure how I feel about courting the younger version of your father. I might seek other means to rule the Halidom. I know a young lady much like myself who finds your father irresistible and might be open to sharing on occasion."

Lucina's protesting, "Mother!" and nauseated expression went ignored.

"It might also be easier to install you as Queen of Plegia than for me to try to hold it alongside the khanship."

Lucina wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"But regardless, I find myself with such a unique opportunity. How can I resist?"

Robin's grin proved infectious. Despite her own, Lucina said, "This is never going to work."

"Not with that kind of attitude, young lady."

Lucina giggled at the faux scolding. No matter what happened, this was going to be fun.


	3. Chapter One - Revel in the Past

The last twelve days journeying by foot, similarly-bound caravan, and the occasional portal past impassable terrain on a straight line toward Western Regna Ferox had comprised of more than twice the sum total happiness Lucina had expected to experience in this timeline.

Just yesterday, Lucina and Robin had crossed the Longfort in the company of a merchant convoy. They'd bartered passage in exchange for Robin's skills as a storyteller to pass the time. The mostly irreligious merchants thought she had a gift for the art of humiliating the gods. The truth was as amusing as it was disillusioning: she merely recited stories of her own experiences with them.

"Okay, okay," Robin said. "I've got another one. This one is about Tiki, Naga, and the Fell Dragon. The latter two had just returned to the Mila Tree from Elibe to catch Tiki in the midst of a tryst with Kurthnaga. Apparently, the kids thought Tiki's mom wouldn't be home for a few more years or decades. You know how the gods are with time. Ask them for rain today. Three years later, they think, 'Am I forgetting something?' and send a flood to compensate for the lost time."

There was a great deal of grumbling mixed in amongst the laughter.

"Now Naga didn't mind, of course. The gods know _she's_ not an innocent, blushing virgin waiting for marriage. I mean where else did Tiki come from, right?"

As far as Lucina knew, Grima had been some laboratory experiment gone wrong. Who really knew how gods were made?

"Of course, Naga wanted to make sure Kurthnaga was good enough for her little girl. After all, he was _only_ the king of an entire nation of dragons, although he did earn major vanity points for being named after her."

Lucina rolled her eyes but quietly and guiltily joined in the snickering.

"At this point, Naga turned to the Fell Dragon and asked how Kurthnaga might prove himself worthy. 'Well,' the Fell Dragon replied, 'my daughter once had many suitors vying for her hand, but she loved her father too much for anyone to catch her eye. To rid herself of them, she challenged them to bring her mother's murderer to justice.'"

Lucina shifted uneasily. If true, she really didn't like what that implied about her previous future self.

"Naturally, this challenge was impossible for the suitors to win," Robin continued. "The Fell Dragon's daughter killed her own mother. Many men wasted their lives investigating. Whether this amused or disappointed her is a mystery. However, it gave Naga an idea.

"'Bring me my daughter's heart upon your hand, and you may do with her as she pleases,' Naga proclaimed. Kurthnaga accepted the challenge. Anyone want to guess what he did?"

One of the many Annas in the world spoke. "Easy. He married her then came back with a ring 'upon his hand'."

Robin smirked. "Nope. Tiki turned him down. The trap was that, as far as her love life was concerned, she didn't feel accountable to her mother. She banished him from her bed that night for being a 'foolish male'."

Anna let out a bark of laughter. Another merchant asked, "Is that the end?"

"Nooope," Robin said, dragging the word out with an ever widening grin on her face. "The next morning, Kurthnaga apologised and explained that he just wanted Tiki's mother to like him now that their relationship wasn't a secret. Moved, but not swayed, she agreed to help him."

"So they did get married in the end."

"Not even decades later," Robin said. "Tiki still refused to marry him over what she considered a load of nonsense. 'Kurthnaga,' she said to him, 'I have an…alternative solution.'"

Lucina quietly tittered at the uneasy reactions of the men in the wagon with them to Robin's honeyed voice.

"Now Kurthnaga is hemophobic, absolutely terrified of blood. Imagine his reaction when Tiki asked the Fell Dragon to use a little necromancy to literally remove her heart from her chest and handed it over."

"You did what!" Lucina gasped. Fortunately, no one but her mother paid any attention to her. The only answer she got from the woman was an amused snort and a smirk.

"Kurthnaga walked through the Mila Tree as rigid as a rock, barely holding himself together. When he finally found Naga and stuttered out a few words, she of course flew into the whole divine retribution shtick, and that was it for him. Passed right out and didn't wake up for days."

While everyone else laughed, Lucina considered that _maybe_ having Grima for a mother instead might actually not be all that bad.

"Another!"

Robin fought through her own laughter to say, "Come on, guys, you're bleeding me dry here. Save some stories for another time."

After enough effort, Robin managed to get the group to let her off storytelling duty for the rest of the day. Eventually, she plopped down across from Lucina with a mug of frothing ale in hand. She guzzled her way through half of it, ultimately culminating in a refreshed, "Ah!"

Lucina really had no idea what to say.

"This is the life," Robin said. "I spent so many years preparing for my leap back in time, I forgot how enjoyable it is to wander about and meet people."

"How much of that last story really happened?"

"Oh? Curious about your future?"

Well, there was that, too. "I meant more the…" Lucina made a grabbing gesture. "Heart removal."

Robin chuckled. "Good times. Naga finally admitted it was funny a year later."

"Right…"

Robin quirked an eyebrow in question.

"Don't you think that was a bit…much?"

"Heh. No, all the stories I told today? That was the tame stuff. Let me tell you about the Divine Surfing Contest."

"What's surf–" Lucina cut herself off and said, "No, wait. I really don't want to know," but it was too late.

"Basically, you grab a plank and ride atop it along the waves of the ocean. Naga and I were touring Tellius and met up with Ashunera for a drink."

Reaching for the obvious distraction before what little remained of her faith shattered, Lucina asked, "Who's Ashunera?"

"Ah. She's… Well, Naga and I are what one might call minor goddesses."

"Minor?" Lucina weakly echoed, her voice no more than a whisper on the wind. She'd felt so powerless struggling against Grima in her original timeline, and he was a _minor_ god?

"Very minor."

Lucina made a strangled shrieking sound.

Heedless to her daughter's distress, Robin continued, "Ashunera is _the_ major goddess, creator of all things. I'll take you to meet her when I go to introduce myself. You'll like her."

"Uh – uh-huh…" A thought occurred. "Could she dispose of Grima for us?"

"Did she before?"

Lucina frowned. That was an obvious enough point, but the important question remained. "Why not?"

"Lots of reasons, actually," Robin said. She nursed her mug with a pitying expression on her face. "For one, Ashunera is a creation goddess. She's not good at unmaking; destruction is more my thing. Also, she's…like taking a long sword to a problem that needs a butter knife. She certainly _could_ deal with Grima for us, but she'd destroy most of Ylisse and Valm in the process."

"Oh. I, uh – I advocate solving the Grima issue by ourselves before she decides to involve herself."

Robin chuckled. "Your growing mastery of strategy will soon put me out of work."

"I'm sure," Lucina said sarcastically. She then asked, "Was what you said about me really true?"

That question sobered Robin immediately. Perfectly serious, she said, "Do you really want to know?"

Lucina nodded.

"Very well. Chrom died young without a direct heir in one of his wars against tyranny and left the throne to you. Nah told me you buried yourself in your work and had been on a self-destructive spiral before then. History remembered you as one of Ylisse's greatest queens, but your personal life was nonexistent. I don't know why, but you did, in fact, place a standing offer to marry whoever avenged your mother's death. If anyone ever figured out you did it or even who I was, they never came forward. In the end…"

Lucina sighed. She could guess how her story ended. "I burnt myself to death with Ignis, didn't I?"

"You did." Robin took a large swig of her ale. "And I felt it. Couldn't stop it."

With nothing to say, Lucina kept quiet and averted her eyes.

"If you ever do that again, I'll bring you back as a risen and ground you forever."

"Please do not," Lucina firmly said.

"Supposed to be a joke," Robin mumbled into her mug. "Guess it was in poor taste. Sorry."

"It's okay." Lucina would be the first to admit that her sense of humor was rather underdeveloped. But an idea occurred to her. In a sweet voice, she said, "Although if you want to make it up to me, you could unground me."

"No."

An instant answer.

"This and that are two entirely separate things." Robin tilted her head back and polished off what remained of her drink. "Although I might as well start teaching you how to cast magic without a tome."

Lucina's eyes lit up in surprise and delight.

"Lesson one: light." Robin held up a single finger, and a tiny but bright ball of light appeared above it. To Lucina's disappointed frown, she added, "Hey, you're skipping past over a thousand years of research and multiple cases of divine intervention. Don't look so unsatisfied."

* * *

Attleburg, the western capital of Regna Ferox, stood tall untouched by the troubles of the future. In its prime before Valm and before Grima the city truly was a sight to behold. Lucina had known in some abstract sense that Western Ferox had once been the continent's primary supplier of coal, metals, and ironwork, but this was history brought to life.

The artisan district endlessly rang with the thunderous clang of a hundred hammers upon a hundred anvils. The thick smoke of burning wood and coal drifted lazily away in the sky above. The air grew noticeably warmer – warm enough, even, that Robin had shed her ever-present coat and wrapped it around her waist.

Even though Lucina already possessed a half-awakened Falchion, she very much felt like a young girl in an Ylissean candy shop again. Much to her mother's eternal vexation, she always had and probably always would prefer swords to sorcery.

 _Although that space folding trick might make me reconsider…_

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucina noticed a shiny new lance, and the thought was gone.

 _Hmm… I_ have _always wanted to try my hand at mounted combat. A lance would fare me better than a sword on horseback. My reach isn't what I'd call long._

As tall as her father was, her mother was equally short, and Lucina had unfortunately inherited absolutely none of the former. This was usually not a problem, as she compensated for her poor reach with agility, but that meant nothing on a horse.

"Play to your strengths, Lucina," Robin idly commented.

 _I suppose she's right…_ With a sigh, Lucina moved on to browse through more mundane creations. Nails and farming equipment could be seen everywhere alongside horseshoes and other miscellaneous household parts.

Lucina noticed her mother looking on as though the materials had somehow offended her. Curious, she asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing." Robin sighed. "Just thinking about how many decades it's going to take to kick-start an industrial revolution and get to replaceable parts and mechanization."

 _Oh, future tech stuff._ There would be time for that later. "Is there anything we should be doing right now?"

"We have a few free days, but if you want, you could go oust Lon'qu from his position as Western Champion early. Even with my absence from the Shepherds, he won't be enough to defeat Chrom."

"Me?"

"I'll cheer you on, if you wish."

 _I'm going to assume Mother knows I'll win and has some reason other than laziness for me to do it._ "Very well. But don't we want Father and Khan Flavia to win? I'd originally intended to come here only to prevent Lon'qu from being injured."

"Do you honestly believe Basilio won't ally with Ylisse?"

Lucina admitted that was a fair point.

"And if he doesn't, then I'll just have to be more aggressive and inelegant in my grab for power. It shouldn't be a problem, though."

 _I certainly hope not for Basilio's sake. I don't want to know what Mother's idea of inelegant is. She sacked Valm and called it the cumulation of her magnum opus._ "I think I'll look around a little more before challenging Lon'qu."

"Then I'll rejoin you later. I'm going to go start building a reputation for myself by unleashing crucible steel into the world."

* * *

"Halt! State your business, traveler."

Lucina stopped as commanded and carefully sized up the pair of guards protecting the gate to the castle housing Western Ferox's central government, such as it was. Diplomacy in this country usually meant punching someone's face in and sharing a drink afterward. She doubted gaining an audience with Lon'qu to challenge him would be any different, but she would try. In all honestly, she should have asked Robin what the protocol for this was.

"My name is Marth," Lucina said. She would have come as herself, but she remembered Lon'qu having a problem with women. When she beat him, she wanted it to be in a fair fight, even if that meant pretending to be a man for another day or two. "I've come from Ylisse to claim the title of Western Champion."

The two guards looked to each other. One even had the gall to laugh.

"Go home, little boy. Lon'qu doesn't have to waste his time fighting every brat fresh off his mother's teat."

Lucina's eye twitched. "You asked for my business, and I've given it. If you would direct me to where I might find Lon'qu–"

"Fuck off, Kid. Come back when you can lift more than a sack of apples and shed that stupid mask."

 _They_ did not _just insult my mask._ These two uncultured swine clearly had the fashion sense of a drunken blind man. _Very well, if that's how they want to play this._ "Tell me what I wish to know, or I'll be forced to make you." She placed a hand upon Falchion's pommel.

This time both guards laughed. "If you can, be our guest. But maybe you should come back with your grandmother. We'd have a harder time against her than you."

"Fine then," Lucina growled. "Have it your way." She resisted pulling out her mother's tome to cast a fiendish curse and instead drew Falchion.

That got both guards to ready their spears.

"Ignis."

Lucina's sword engulfed in her mother's fire got their _attention_. It was weaker than expected, and the air didn't distort around it from the heat she'd never herself felt, but better that than drawing on the power of a non-exhausted, slumbering Grima. It would do just fine. The guards' attitudes had already flipped straight around. Where once lay amusement, Lucina saw excitement with just a hint of genuine fear.

She would have to fix that.

One guard struck out at Lucina's sword hand, apparently eager to separate her from her weapon. She easily sidestepped the thrust. Her second opponent timed his strike perfectly in sequence with his partner to press her back. Had she been anyone else, it might have disarmed her. Instead, she dashed past his guard, forcing him to give ground.

Another thrust. This one Lucina found herself perfectly positioned to swipe at with her sword. Between Naga's power and Robin's, Falchion easily cut through the wooden shaft, leaving the guard with a useless quarterstaff. A very short duel left his partner in the same situation.

Of course, each guard had a backup sword for close quarters combat, but _now_ they understood just how outmatched they were. One looked to the other. A head frantically shook back and forth.

"Well, gentlemen? Would you care to tell me where I may find Lon'qu now?"

* * *

"So this is home, eh?"

Robin, informally dubbed 'the Third' by her future self, gazed upon Livadi from atop a hill overlooking the town. It'd been a long walk from Southtown, as it was almost as far away from Plegia as one could get without leaving the continent entirely. The ocean rolled up in gentle waves to meet the edge of town in its harbor. Off in the distance, she could see a few boats at sea presumably out for the day catching fish.

 _This seems like a nice place to go into hiding. Although if my future self was right, I have less than a year before Plegian assassins find my mother here. How troubling…_

After a few more minutes memorizing the layout of Livadi, Robin set off into town. The market was busy, thriving, and reeked of fish. The harbor fared no better, but at least there she got to walk past foreign merchants peddling exotic goods and curios. Still, she was glad to leave both behind. The smell finally abated as she traveled further into the residential district.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Ava Sumera."

"Could you direct me to the Twilight Bakery?"

"Three lefts, then a right, correct?"

The warm, sweet scent of honeyed bread filled the air. Robin had to give her mother credit for choosing an excellent place to live. Two buildings away from a bakery was as perfect as perfect could get in a small town like this.

Unfortunately, seeing the house returned no memories to Robin. She'd not expected it to. Optimism never suited tacticians. But she'd hoped.

Powering through her growing nerves, Robin approached the front door, knocked, and waited.

 _Maybe she's not home._

It _was_ the middle of the day. Presumably, Ava had a profession she practiced.

 _Maybe the assassins already found her._

Robin frowned. Beyond the obligatory response of, 'Oh no, my mother,' she felt nothing at the thought.

 _I hate amnesia._

At last the door opened. An older woman who looked much like Robin herself stood in the opening with a look of surprise on her face. Nonetheless, she soon pulled Robin in for a hug.

 _This feels so…awkward._

Robin did her best to return the hug without giving up the charade just yet. Of course, Ava could obviously tell something was wrong. Her expression said everything for her.

"What are you doing back here so soon?" Ava asked. "Don't tell me the Shepherds rejected you."

"Um…" What was Robin supposed to say to that? She fought beside them to kill some of her own countrymen only for her future self to send her home? Yes, that would go over so well. "Not exactly. A lot happened, and I'm not sure how much of it you'll believe."

"My little fledgling, I'm not sure how much of _my_ life you would believe."

Robin hesitated but ultimately said, "Probably all of it."

"Oh dear. Well, let's not stand about in the middle of the door."

The inside of what Robin assumed was her home held a surprising amount of weaponry. A half-dozen swords hung displayed on walls, and two whole bookshelves stood dedicated to magic tomes of all varieties. Another full half-dozen bookshelves overflowed with other books on all manner of subjects from history to tactics. The fireplace sat cold and empty, but the mess of blankets and cushions nearby suggested it saw heavy use when winter set in. From what she could tell, spring had only just begun, and the mess had yet to disperse.

No memories came back to her, but Robin smiled nonetheless. She could be very comfortable here; this was definitely her home.

"I'll make some tea for us, fresh from Chon'sin," Ava said. "Such a shame it's getting harder to obtain in this country. But one question first. Validar didn't find you, did he?"

 _Who?_ The name sounded familiar. _Oh, my father._ "No, but someone almost as bad did. I…suspect I have an invitation to join the Shepherds, but I think the prince would protect us regardless if we only asked."

"Do we need to run?"

Robin shook her head. "We'll be safe here for some time. Certainly long enough for tea."

"Alright." As Ava disappeared into the kitchen, she tossed back a, "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be a moment."

As bidden, Robin browsed through the bookshelves looking for something to read to pass the time. She pulled a particularly well-worn book on historical military battles and was soon lost to the world. Despite remembering all of the material, the book still _felt_ new and engrossing.

"Robin, the tea is ready."

The girl in question jumped in surprise when a hand fell on her arm and pulled her back into the real world. More than a little embarrassed, she quietly closed the book and replaced it upon its shelf. It'd only felt like a few seconds had passed, lost in the text as she'd been.

"So," Ava began once they were seated, "what happened that brought you back here?"

 _I wanted to meet my mother._ Wisely or not, Robin chose _not_ to lead with that. Instead, she decided to test Ava's willingness to entertain the unlikely. "I encountered a god. And met a goddess."

"Oh? Which ones?"

 _Okay, surprisingly, so far so good…_ "That's a little complicated. Would you believe me if I said they were both from the future?"

Ava leveled a scrutinizing gaze upon Robin, no doubt searching for a sign she was lying. Finding none, for there were none to find, Ava said, "I believe they made such a claim. That begs me to ask why you believe it."

After thinking about how to reply for far too long, Robin decided nothing she could possibly say would sound any more or less credible than anything else. She did, however, recall that her future self had told her that Ava knew about the plan for her to become Grima, so perhaps that was the correct place to start.

"The first one was the Fell Dragon, Grima."

Ava's hand holding her tea noticeably shook, but her voice remained level. "I see. Was he in human form?"

Robin gave a silent nod in answer.

"I see."

Without a word, Robin refilled her cup of tea.

"After that, I met the Fell Dragon, Robin."

Ava's eyes opened wide in shock. The only word she managed was a weak, "What?"

"In her timeline, which _would_ have been this one, she, and I quote, 'ate Grima' and became the new Fell Dragon. She was quite nice and very helpful, if perhaps a little…off."

"That's…good." Ava nodded, although it felt like the act was mostly for her own sake. "Yes, that's good. You win in the end, then."

"She did say events mostly worked out in her and the world's favor."

"Good. Good." Ava's hands still possessed a slight tremor as she held her tea with both, but it was much more under control now. "But then why did she come back in time?"

"That _is_ the question, isn't it? I don't pretend to understand the whims of the gods."

That pulled a small smile out of Ava. Not wanting to unload even more on the woman today, Robin decided to keep the issue of her amnesia to herself until another day – tomorrow perhaps. Still, she _was_ curious what had brought her future self back in time.

* * *

Lucina gazed up at one of the largest man-made structures in the world in awe. Attleburg Arena stood almost as tall as Ylisstol Castle and nearly as wide in diameter. Grand, colorful tapestries a dozen times Lucina's height hung from the upper reaches. Even from a distance, she could hear the roar and feel the energy of the crowd gathered within.

Despite the mask hiding her face, Lucina knew she looked like a tourist, but that was fine. She was, after all, a tourist twice over in both time and space. There was no hiding that, nor did she care to. She'd once spent an entire day doing nothing but cloud watching from the back of a wagon with her mother simply because the sun and sky had been a long forgotten novelty.

 _I'd best get to work before I idle away the day and Lon'qu returns to the castle._

Lucina entered the arena and went through the bureaucracy required to issue a formal challenge for Lon'qu's title. Khan Basilio had the final say on who his champion would be, of course, but official matches historically held a lot of weight with the man. Fortunately, even with approaching tournament, the wait list was nonexistent. No one wanted to challenge the reigning champ, it seemed, or at least _not yet_.

 _I suppose I'll have my hands full defending my position for the next few weeks if I proceed now._ After considering the matter for a little while, Lucina decided to issue her challenge anyway. _It'll be good practice. I've been feeling a little sluggish since Mother messed with my soul. I may have gotten too used to being a…a semi-demigoddess._

Within the hour, Lucina found herself standing across from Lon'qu on the arena floor with a massive crowd in the seating above. Most of the audience consisted of other warriors who'd been training in the arena, but she could pick out a sizable number of civilians mixed in. Word of her match must have leaked to the outside world.

A referee quickly summarized the important rules. Killing and maiming were allowed but _heavily_ frowned upon. Any choice of non-living weapon was acceptable – apparently, someone had once tried to pass off a dozen brigands as a 'weapon'. Poisons had to have antidotes on hand. Disabled and downed opponents were considered untouchable. A yield promptly ended the match. One _could_ , in fact, be brought up on murder charges.

From the stories Lucina had heard of Regna Ferox, it all sounded rather typical, perhaps even safer than normal. But then with the tournament to choose the high khan so close, it would only be prudent to prevent sabotage.

"Ready?" the referee asked. Lucina nodded, and he repeated the question to Lon'qu, who responded similarly. "Then begin!"

Dashing forward, Lucina drew Falchion from its sheath and met Lon'qu in a clash of swords.

* * *

' _And that's why you and Maribelle need to learn how to use the warp and rescue spell. I'll foot the bill for the staves myself if I must, but I don't want to hear of my sister-in-law dying in easily preventable circumstances again because the Shepherds have the budget of a ham sandwich and a rusty sword. I swear, the number of problems shouting, "Lissa, rescue!" or, "Maribelle, warp!" could have solved…_

' _Sigh… Sorry for the rant. It's been centuries since I last saw my time errant daughter, and I'm nervous and feeling a bit scatterbrained. She's had a terrible life and rather justly blames me for that. Here's hoping I remember how to be a mother._

' _Anyway, Lucina and I will see you again sooner than you think. Love, the Fell Dragon, Robin Lowell.'_

Lissa carefully folded the letter Robin had given her and replaced it within its envelope.

It read like a prank. It even challenged Lissa to a prank war. Sure, Robin might not have used those exact words, but what did she expect with a preemptive threat of retaliation? Then again, the thought of having a live frog conjured in her stomach left Lissa feeling a little queasy. She would need to step up her game to take on the dragon.

And speaking of, if everything contained within the letter were true, how wise was it to trust a self-professed Fell Dragon? _Why not call herself a Dark Dragon or something? A Time Dragon, maybe? The Dragon of Fate? That one sounds cool and not at all evil. Goddess of Fate, perhaps?_

Lissa shook her head. She'd gotten off topic.

 _Robin knows too much about me to pass her off as_ just _a fellow prankster._ Lissa hummed in thought. _Come to think of it, she_ was _crazy strong_ after _we left Southtown. Although I suppose her behavior before then could have been an act instead of a different Robin. I'm not really the best judge of when someone is holding back._

But there _was_ someone who'd fought beside the Robin in Southtown who might be able to answer that question. Lissa would need to phrase it just right to not give the game away, but that was no trouble at all. So resolved, she sought out her brother in his office.

* * *

Lucina brought Falchion up to block Lon'qu's slash. The blow came heavy and pushed her back, but she endured. As soon as the initial force of the strike dissipated, she lashed out with a kick to put distance between the two of them.

The reprieve was short-lived. Lon'qu recovered quickly and pressed the attack once more. Tiring but not ready to call him the better master of the blade, Lucina rushed to meet him in their struggle for dominance.

And a struggle it was. Without resorting to magic or divine powers, which tended to kill and maim, Lon'qu was a truly worthy opponent. He was stronger, almost as fast, and he had far more experience fighting against _people_. The vast majority of Lucina's combat experience had been against risen, who _did not_ fight like a living being. Really, she had no business winning this fight, but she refused to lose.

Lon'qu thrusted forward. Lucina gracefully sidestepped the attack but did so too slowly to capitalize on the opening. She was growing tired. The good news, however, was that her opponent had also grown sloppy. She was wearing him down faster with her apparently superior endurance. That was how she would win this.

Indeed, as she forced the fight to continue at the same intensity, Lon'qu's blows weakened. His breathing grew ragged, and openings crept into his defense.

Having lost more than one duel to feigned exhaustion, Lucina kept the match going until she was sure of her advantage. A slow slash came. Lucina blocked with Falchion in one hand. The other delivered a solid blow to Lon'qu in the gut, knocking the air from his chest. She followed up with a sweep at his legs, knocking him down. Lastly, she stomped on his sword hand, leaving him unarmed.

Lucina positioned Falchion above Lon'qu's heart for a killing blow. She suppressed a flinch as the memory of her doing the same to Robin flashed through her thoughts.

"Yield," Lucina commanded.

Lon'qu returned the demand with an unreadable expression. Eventually, however, he did as directed. "I yield."

A deafening roar met the statement. Lucina spun to meet the threat only to find nothing. A second passed, and then two. Only after did she realise it was the crowd cheering her. Cries of support and congratulations filled the air without a care in the world. Some people threw coin Lucina's way. She even noticed one or two women behave most inappropriately.

Lucina could barely hear herself think. An electrifying feeling shot through her as though she'd just returned from a battle against risen without a single casualty. This was…new. The energy washed over her and filled her tired limbs with newfound strength. Brady's healing had never been so effective, and that some something _real_.

Lucina thrust Falchion to the sky. The crowd roared.

 _I love the past!_

* * *

After meeting Khan Basilio and going through all of the formal bureaucracy to be named the new Western Champion, Lucina left the arena for the day with a skip to her step. A cheery song hung on her breath as she wandered the city and headed in the general direction of the inn she and Robin had stayed at last night. She wore a lovely sash displaying her new status for all to see at a glance. Life was good.

 _I wonder where Mother is. She never showed, and she_ did _say she would come cheer for me. What kept her?_

Shrugging, Lucina pushed the thought from her mind. She would find out later tonight when they met up at the inn. For now, she intended to simply enjoy whatever Attleburg had to offer.

The smell of genuine Feroxi food assaulted Lucina's senses. Her stomach growled. The question was did she wait to eat with Robin or did she eat now?

Lucina shuddered at the memory of many of her meals en route to Attleburg. She'd consumed far too many things neither man nor woman was meant to eat. Some days she just hated her parents. It was one thing to eat whatever happened to be around in the future, but the past had standards.

 _Right then. Eat now. Convince Mother to burn everything edible we have later._

And so Lucina stepped inside to purchase a delicious roasted chicken. She found a warm place to rest nearby in a market square and then sat down to eat.

"So good!" Lucina moaned through a full mouth. She denied any possibility of tears in her eyes. "I swear by Naga I'll never eat bear, or squirrel, or strange little mouse things again."

A thought occurred. _What or who do I swear by now? Does Lady Tiki swear by her mother? Herself? Can_ I _swear by_ _myself?_ That would certainly be amusing.

Mid-bite, a body crashed into the square from above. Lucina only got a brief glance, but the boy looked Ylissean and approximately her age. Unlike in the Halidom, however, the crowd parted to make room for the conflict and looked on at today's entertainment instead of calling for the guard.

Lucina sighed, glancing between her meal and the small, clearing dust cloud ahead. She should _probably_ intervene. It would be the right thing to do.

"Foul demon conjured from the very pits of the netherworld, face me in fair combat!"

Lucina's grip slackened. Her chicken leg fell to the ground with a weak splat.

" **Oh? You believe yourself worthy to cross blades with me?** "

Despite herself, Lucina looked up. Sure enough, Robin gracefully descended through the air into the square with Ignis blazing about her. The fell fire stole the light of day, drowning the square in ominous shadows. When her feet touched down, she held out a single arm parallel to the ground. A sword flashed into her grip in a burst of black flame that just _had_ to exist purely for dramatic effect.

And _of course_ the sword also just _had_ to be a replica of–

"You fiend! That blade belongs to me! Return the legendary Mystletainn to me, and perhaps my sword hand might see fit to grant you a swift death."

A condescending laugh met that demand. " **A sword such as this is not meant for pitiful mortal hands such as yours. Bow before me,** _ **worm**_ **, and I might forgive your transgressions and permit your corpse to join my ranks.** "

Lucina discarded her food and pushed her way through the crowd. She needed to intervene _now_ before this got any worse.

"Villain! I would sooner cripple my sword hand than bow to you. Now face me! Your evil stands no match to my blazing light. Radiant Dawn!"

The crash of metal upon metal filled the square alongside the cries of the crowd. They utterly lacked any true context for this fight, as otherwise they would have run in fear, and so they cheered, and jeered, and stood in the way as they saw fit. Lucina cast aside the last vestiges of respect and began to shove people out of her way.

For a moment, Lucina watched the horribly one-sided fight before her. Robin let her black flames flow freely about her and follow in the wake of every sword strike, dredging up terrible memories of her time under Grima's thrall. Each of her blows came _fast_. Without intimate knowledge of her style, Lucina would have a hard time just keeping up, let alone pressing an offensive.

On the opposite side stood Lucina's cousin, Owain. The intensity of the battle had knocked all sense of flair out of him in favor of pure survival. In all honesty, Lucina was surprised his sword had yet to shatter or melt from the near constant clash with divine fire.

Cursing the crowd for its proximity, Lucina drew Falchion instead of tossing a fireball between Robin and Owain. She instinctively drew on her mother's flame and rushed forward, inserting herself between the two. Falchion rose to block Robin's strike, and Owain took the opportunity to catch his breath.

"Lucina," Owain panted out. "Thank Naga! You're just in time. Help me vanquish–"

"Stop. Both of you." Lucina turned her gaze to Robin. "What are you doing?"

Thankfully, Robin toned down the evil goddess voice and replied, "Playing with my nephew."

Lucina slapped her free hand to her forehead. "Did you considering _talking to him_?"

"He attacked me," Robin protested. "He then declined to engage in civil conversation."

 _I hate my family. I hate my family. I hate my family!_ Lucina turned to Owain. "Put your sword away."

Rather than obey, Owain took a half step away and readied his weapon. "Dearest Cousin, is this not the very demon we've pierced through the veil of time itself to destroy?"

"No! Well, yes, but not – it's complicated!"

"I see…" Owain took another step back.

Lucina followed Owain's gaze to Falchion, which was still bathed in cursed fire. The very same fire that currently surrounded Robin. She hastily made a conscious effort to extinguish her sword.

"That was really not what you're thinking," Lucina tried to explain.

In a terribly serious tone lacking any of his usual rhetoric, Owain said, "Lucina, Your Grace, you've been down this road before. Please. Remember what happened to Yarne."

"Who?"

"This isn't the same!" Lucina said, ignoring Robin's question. "I really know it's her this time."

Owain's cautious expression fell into a sorrowful frown. "You yourself led us in a vow to destroy the Fell Dragon at all costs. I've even forced him to reveal his true colors early."

"Forced?" Lucina glanced at Robin.

"He pierced a lung. Being a goddess admittedly makes one somewhat careless amongst mortals. Losing this body wouldn't kill me, of course, but I would have needed to possess you to communicate my need for a new vessel."

Owain thrust forward his free hand as if to say, "See!"

"I know that _sounds_ bad–"

"Oh, tell him how I'm planning to take over the world with your support and approval."

Lucina whirled on Robin and shouted, "You are not helping, Mother!"

Without a hint of shame, Robin said, "It's important to be honest with family."

"At appropriate times!" Lucina said in exasperation. "Owain, look–" The space her cousin had once occupied was empty.

"Ah," Robin deadpanned. "The hero ran away."

"I can see that," Lucina grumbled. She then added, "Can you _please_ turn off the fire now?"

With nothing more than a shrug, Robin obliged the request.

"Thank you." Lucina let out a long sigh. This was going to be a problem. She'd expected to have more time to settle in and prepare before her fellow time travelers started appearing.

"Do you want me to chase Owain down?" Robin asked.

That would certainly help. Owain could do a lot of damage if he found the rest of their friends before Lucina did. After thinking about it, though, she shook her head. "So long as I'm accessible, he'll come back to talk to me at least once when I'm alone." _I hope._ "Let's let him cool off on his own."

"Very well. You know him better than I." Robin banished her sword in a burst of fire back to wherever it'd come from. As she did, her eyes fell onto Lucina's new accessory, and a grin grew on her face. "You beat Lon'qu."

Lucina breathed deeply and pushed the matter of Owain from her mind for now. "I did," she replied with her own smile. "I didn't even have to use magic or my gender."

"Hm?" After a moment, Robin said, "Oh, yes. Gynophobia. Well done, my little light. Your father would be proud."

Blushing at the compliment, Lucina mumbled a quiet, "Thank you." The coloring of her cheeks only worsened when Robin rubbed the top of her head. She weakly protested, "Mother!" but subtly shifted nonetheless to make it easier for the affection to continue.

"Did you have fun?" Robin eventually asked.

Lucina nodded.

"I thought so. I'm glad to see you happy. Looking forward to your much delayed rematch with Chrom?"

"Yes. Very much so." It would not be the same against Chrom's younger, less experienced self, but the idea of matching up against her father again in any form still sent a thrill racing through Lucina.

"Good. Now please remind me, who's Yarne?"

"Panne's son, remember?"

Robin gave Lucina a blank look.

"Panne?"

Still no recognition came.

"The last of the Taguel?"

"Oh! The laguz tribe that moved to Ylisse before Ashunera flipped out. Sorry, it's been a few centuries."

"It's alright." Lucina knew Robin and Panne had never been particularly close.

"Let's head back to the inn. I think I need you to refresh my memory of our circle of friends and acquaintances."


	4. Chapter Two - A Weighty Decision

After hours of begrudgingly probing Ylisstol Castle's defenses, it was time to give up. Short of shattering the wards and having to fight an entire army – a losing prospect at this point in time, if even possible – there was no way to teleport inside. However demeaning and degrading it was, alternative means of entry would have to be employed.

The maple grove outside the castle was poorly guarded and easy to traverse without notice. Behind it, a small clearing separated the forest from the castle. The area was stomped flat from relentless use as a training ground. This late in the day, however, no one was present. Avoiding the gaze of the patrol atop the nearby bailey proved easy enough. There at the wall, a small cleft obscured behind a bush allowed easy and surreptitious entry to the castle to the small and agile.

Even with the infamous Frederick the Wary's paranoia, it proved terribly easy to slip through the castle's security. A few well placed spells dealt with the minor inconveniences that occurred and removed the threat of discovery from a guard's absence being noted.

And then there was the treasure vault. It resided deep underground within the castle, a veritable fortress onto itself. Designed in a time when dragons ruled the world and the gods themselves walked the earth, breaking into it would prove an impossible task for even the greatest of thieves and most powerful of sorcerers. A mere lock pick would be of no use, and the most destructive spells would barely scratch the surface at best.

Of course, it opened as easily as an unlocked door for those who knew its secrets.

The treasure vault held three items of interest. Displayed proudly in the center of the chamber sat the Fire Emblem, the Shield of Seals, the Crest of Flames. The jewel Argent, a powerful magical focus designed to work with the emblem, was fixed in place near the top of the shield. Unfortunately – but not at all unexpectedly – the stand which should have held the Falchion lay bare. The sword would no doubt be with the prince.

With the vault locked once more, it would be weeks – months, perhaps – before anyone noticed the Fire Emblem and Argent had been stolen.

* * *

Lucina collapsed into a chair with an exhausted sigh after defending her title of Western Champion against yet another contender. Lon'qu was a known factor, his strength well tested and proven. Now that he was gone, it seemed everyone and their mother wanted a chance at the position. It would have been fun had anyone posed a challenge. This barely qualified as training.

Still, there were worse ways to idle away time, and while in the arena, Lucina was highly visible and easily accessible. Robin was out and about the city doing who knew what to the timeline while she fought during the day, so Owain should come to her eventually. Hopefully. She'd left instructions to allow him in without a fuss and could only hope he wouldn't _make_ a fuss in the process. One never knew with him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lucina noticed Basilio approach quite clearly full of good cheer. He had a pair of mugs in hand. Each contained some variety of alcohol, judging by the froth. After exchanging greetings, he handed one off to her.

"I have to admit," Basilio began with his usual deep, jovial voice, "I thought you beating Lon'qu was a fluke at first, especially when I heard you were a woman, but you do damn good work. Of course I knew that after sparing with you on day one."

"Thank you, and I'll try not to take that as a slight upon my gender."

Basilio let out a rumbling laugh. "None meant. I heard you challenged Lon'qu as a man. I assume you know of his issue with women."

Lucina nodded. "I wanted a fair fight against a swordsman of his skill. Now that I have the title, though, the gloves have come off."

"I saw. It's rare to find someone so skilled in both swords and magic. Flavia could never find anyone to beat Lon'qu. Now whatever champion she scrounges up won't stand a chance." Basilio held up his mug and toasted, "To victory!"

Smiling, Lucina gently knocked her mug against Basilio's and echoed the sentiment. "To victory." After a long drink, she said, "I'll do my best, but my fight won't be easy."

"Oh? Do you know what poor sap Flavia has lined up for the chopping block this time?"

Lucina shifted in place. "A…relative of mine, I believe."

"Hmm? Prince Chrom, then, I take it."

"You have a good eye," Lucina said.

"Ha! A good eye, indeed!"

Lucina tilted her head to the side in question, not understanding the joke. Still, what she'd said was true. Most people needed to spend considerably more time in her company before they noticed either of her brands.

Eventually, Basilio settled down. "Ah… Good one, girl. No need to be shy about your heritage here, though. No one in Ferox cares if you're a bastard so long as you can fight."

Lucina felt her mug warm in her hands. She was getting entirely too good at drawing on her mother's fire. She took a moment to calm herself then stated in no uncertain terms, "I _am not_ a bastard."

"Easy, girl. Didn't mean anything by it. Win against the prince, and we'll treat you like royalty either way."

"I look forward to it, Khan Basilio."

"Ha! Confidence! I like it. It's still just Basilio, though. You Ylisseans are always so prim and proper."

"I would retort that makes you uncivilized barbarians, but not only would that be improper, it would be grossly inappropriate as my mother desires your job." No one could say Basilio had not had fair warning now, even if he only seemed all the more amused for it. "If you're feeling the spirit of generosity, however, I don't suppose I could prevail upon it for some Chon'sin tea? I could use the energy boost to get through the rest of today's rabble."

"I'll put in a word for you with the kitchens downstairs. Gods know Lon'qu drank kegs doing the same."

With that, the two said their goodbyes. Basilio mentioned on his way out that he was looking forward to meeting Lucina's mother in or out of the arena. To be fair, Lucina looked forward to that, too. She had no doubt that Robin would win any fight between them in either arms or politics, but she was equally sure that it would be a spectacle worth watching.

Sometime later after she'd polished off the last of the drink Basilio had brought her, a servant arrived with a kettle, teapot, and cup. She thanked him for the prompt delivery and took the instruments for her own use, quickly pouring herself a cup.

 _Mmm… I haven't had a hot drink since Mother last made tea for me._

Perfectly content, Lucina gazed out upon the arena floor. Without an official match, the space was open for people to train against each other. A few faces she recognised as challengers she'd already defeated. Half the rest were probably ones she had yet to deal with. Sadly, no one stuck out to her as particularly impressive to test herself against at first glance.

Lucina chuckled to herself. _I suppose I am rather used to working with…colorful characters._ Owain, Cynthia, and Noire sprang right to mind. Many of the Shepherds had been a little…off even before Grima's resurrection, too. She frowned. _Does being a total nutcase correlate with being strong?_ I'm _not like that, am I?_

Noticing that her supply of tea had grown cold during her idle musings, Lucina emptied the teapot and picked up the kettle. She held one hand beneath it and summoned a small black flame to bring it back to a boil.

 _Speaking of Owain, I wonder where he is. He's usually not this patient. I hope he didn't leave the city before speaking with me. That would be…unfortunate._

* * *

From the shadows behind a column, Owain watched over his exalt, cousin, and friend with a stunned expression. He knew Lucina had trained herself to call upon Grima's power with the intent to kill the dragon once and for all, but _this_?

 _Is she really using Grima's cursed fire to_ boil water _?_

The familiar but faint feeling of _otherness_ flooded Owain's senses. Recognizing the sign of the Fell Dragon's approach, he turned away and made himself scarce.

* * *

"Lucina!"

Twisting her head about from her seat, Lucina saw her mother wave and approach. Robin held one hand behind her back and had a bright smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Mother."

"Good afternoon. Do you know what day it is?"

Lucina frowned in thought. She'd never been terribly connected to the calendar before her trip through time. Even the seasons had possessed little impact on her old life. The Feroxi were out and about today, so it must not be a holiday. Eventually, she gave up. "I'm not sure. I don't think I ever asked."

"It's the twentieth!"

That sounded familiar.

"Of April."

Lucina quirked her head to the side in question. Robin's smile faltered.

"Your birthday."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I'd forgotten."

"That's not…" Robin sighed. "Nevermind. I have plans for us tonight, but I thought I'd drop off your present early." From behind her back, she withdrew a box wrapped in a curiously colorful material. It was roughly the height and width of her head and as thick as a fire tome. An envelope was somehow attached to the top beside a fancy ribbon tied into a bow. "Happy birthday!"

Accepting the gift, Lucina said, "Thank you, but you really didn't have to–"

Robin held up a hand. "I will take every excuse to spoil you rotten as is my prerogative as your mother. I…" Her gaze drifted down to her feet. "I never stopped buying them. Birthday presents, I mean."

Setting aside her gift, Lucina rose from her seat. She gave Robin a loving smile and then pulled her mother into a soft embrace.

Some unknowable time later, Robin sniffled as she pulled away. She dabbed at her eyes with her coat. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I shouldn't have–" She shook her head. More strongly, she continued, "Enjoy the rest of your day. Tonight we celebrate!"

"Join me for tea?" Lucina gestured to an open seat beside hers and the waiting tea set.

"No, sorry. I still have a few things to do today, and I shouldn't be around when you open your present."

Lucina quirked an eyebrow. "Should I be concerned?"

"I'm not _Lissa_ ," Robin said in her own defense with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway, I'll see you later." And with that, she teleported away.

Lucina turned her attention to the gift she'd been given. She removed the letter from inside the envelope, curious as to what Robin had meant. Perhaps _it_ would explain.

' _I had intended to present this to you in a year or two, but you're a responsible, intelligent adult despite how little – or perhaps how much – credit I can claim for that.'_

Lucina sighed, long and deep. With how caught up she'd been with, well, _everything_ over the last few weeks, she'd forgotten that Robin had her own issues to work through and needed help with. For now, though, Lucina continued to read.

' _My gift to you is that of choice. Whatever you want, I will make it happen. If you wish to bury this under a rock and never speak of it again, then I never shall. You won't hurt my feelings. I only ask that your decision be carefully considered.'_

On that dramatic note, Lucina exchanged the letter for the box she'd been given with no small amount of trepidation. Whatever was contained within was a more weighty gift than she'd expected. She opened it slowly, trying to guess what it held.

 _It's too small to be a weapon. Too important to be clothes. A tome, perhaps? Something from the future? Well, it_ must _be something from the future. I don't know where Mother would have found the time to–_

Lucina froze. Five small boxes lined the bottom within. Above them resided _the_ Ylissean nation treasure: the Fire Emblem.

"By Naga," Lucina said, her voice barely a whisper.

* * *

Something was wrong with Lucina. Anyone who had ever spent a day in her company could see that. The oddities continually piled upon each other. Nevermind that she'd thrown good sense to the side and teamed up with the Fell Dragon; everyone who knew her knew how much that betrayal had hurt and how she silently struggled to find the strength to fulfill her destiny.

No, it was much worse than that. Lucina _laughed_ at the occasional jest. She _made jokes_ – or at least she tried to. Her awareness of her surroundings had plummeted. She was _drunk_ , for Naga's sake!

From several rooftops away, Owain trailed after Grima and Lucina. The latter had all but passed out from imbibing and hung clumsily off the Fell Dragon's back. He silently followed them back to the house they'd apparently bought. Who knew where they'd found the necessary gold for that. Khan Basilio should have offered to let his champion stay at the castle. Maybe Lucina had been in the past for longer than expected?

Owain shook his head. Lucina looked no older than she should, and it was not all that important. From his vantage point, he waited until he saw Grima put Lucina to bed in some strange nightgown. With the benefit of days of observation, he had to admit the Fell Dragon played the part of a doting parent well. Indeed, he hardly blamed Lucina for indulging. Where she a craftier woman, Owain might have even suspected her of playing Grima's own game against him.

A soft, haunting melody drifted from the house out into the quiet of the night. _A lullaby_ , Owain realised. He stilled himself and strained his ears to listen more closely, but the words were nonsense. They had structure, certainly, but they were not native to Ylisse or Valm.

Owain yawned. Listening to that song was tiring. _Too_ tiring. Sure, it was a lullaby, but – Owain's eyes widened. He jumped to his feet. There was magic in the air. The song was a spell!

With his sword drawn, Owain leapt forward to the next rooftop. Grima was taking advantage of Lucina's drunken state to ensorcel her!

Another rooftop cleared.

Who knew what mental traps Grima could place within Lucina's mind?

 _Almost there!_

It would be just like Grima to turn his greatest threat against everyone for his own amusement.

Owain leapt for Lucina's half-open bedroom window. He curled up into a ball with his sword in front and tucked his head in beneath his arms. Through the air, he flew.

 _Where's the–_

A second later than expected, Owain hit _something_. Dazed, he scrambled to his feet to find himself in the middle of the street. The cobblestone paving below betrayed his impact against it by the small drops of fresh blood upon it. He brought the wrist of his off hand up to find his nose bleeding – no surprise there.

 _What happened? Where am I?_

As Owain regained his bearings, he heard a lock unlatching behind him.

"I realise you never learned how to knock, Owain, but I _know_ you know how to use a door."

Owain spun in place to face Grima, his sword at the ready. He briefly considered proceeding with his intended assault, but without the element of surprise, he knew the Fell Dragon would best him in combat even in such a weakened state. Retreat, however, was also not a viable option.

 _I only got away last time because Grima didn't want to upset Lucina._ Owain's eye flicked up to where his Exalt lay asleep. _I need to wake her up._ Not that he expected that to be an easy task.

"What did you do to Her Grace?" Owain demanded, stalling for time.

Grima looked at Owain with a curious expression for a second. "Lissa never told me you were magically gifted."

"Answer me, Villain!"

"Very well. Seid magic is an interesting branch of the arcane I picked up while in Tellius. Versatile and powerful in the right hands, although often slow. I'm not very good at it, but I possess enough skill to sing the Galdr of Slumber. Lehran composed it to comfort an aspect of the goddess Ashunera, but it works just as well to soothe my daughter's nightmares. If you're interested in learning–"

"I am not," Owain growled.

Grima sighed. "The offer remains. I think the magic would suit you. Regardless, if you're looking for a place to sleep away from the cold, come inside. Otherwise, go away and come back at a decent hour. I'm not in the mood to convince you I'm not Grima."

"Don't bother pretending with–"

"Goodnight, Owain."

Grima waved his hand. Owain blinked. The next moment he found himself alone somewhere on the other side of Attleburg.

* * *

Lucina cringed as the morning's light impacted against her eyelids. Gods but she had a splitting hangover, too. She could still remember last night, though, so there was that. Life could be worse. And she _had_ had fun.

Conceding the fight for more sleep to the sun, Lucina trudged to the bathroom in her pajamas. She pushed a little magic into her fingers and snapped. The shower turned itself on for her. She shed her clothes and stepped into the water.

"Ah…" _The perks of living with a spellcasting goddess from the Future. Now where did I leave the soap?_

Indulgently long later – the only way Lucina could allow herself to describe it – Lucina found her way down to the kitchen and grabbed half a loaf of bread for breakfast.

"I thought I heard you come downstairs."

Lucina swallowed her mouthful of bread. "Good morning, Mother."

"Good morning, Lucina. How did you sleep?"

"Very well, as usual." Which was strange, really, but not unwelcome. Nightmares used to plague her constantly, but Lucina had yet to have a single one since coming back in time. "You?"

"A little rough at first, but well enough."

Lucina took another bite of bread and nodded. "Anything special planned today I should be wary of?"

A grinning Robin said, "Come on, admit you enjoyed last night."

"I will say no such thing about your…carousing. Half of your embarrassing stories about the gods start with, 'We met up for drinks,' and end in some horrific disaster."

"And you loved listening to every single one."

Lucina found the wall behind Robin sightly to the left eminently fascinating as she said, "You've thoroughly broken my faith."

"I prefer the word 'improved'."

"Bah!" After another mouthful of bread, Lucina noticed Robin still smiling at her. Despite herself, she smiled, too. Changing the topic, she asked, "I only have a few planned fights today and should be able to finish early if you're free."

"Hmm… Well, I'm just tech rushing metallurgy techniques. I should be able to flee from the artisan district early if you want to spend the day together."

Lucina nodded. She held up a finger and concentrated. With enough effort, mental tricks, and a perhaps clumsy application of magic, she managed to summon a small but bright light above it.

"Oh!" Robin grinned. "Very good work, my very little light."

Ignoring her slight blush, Lucina said, "I got it to work yesterday morning. I was hoping for my next lesson."

"And I shall happily accommodate that request!" Robin sniffed and wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. "My baby girl is finally embracing magic. Oh Chrom, if only you were here to witness my triumph. My life is complete now."

Lucina rolled her eyes.

* * *

Juggling was an odd hobby to pick up as a princess and even more so as the Exalt. It was the art of the common street performer, someone relatable and simple. Lucina had always had to be a beacon of strength and surety. That had been the one constant of her life, and it had only grown worse and worse over time.

As a child, Lucina had technically sat in her father's throne while he fought against Valm. Her only official responsibility had been to stamp final royal approval upon whatever the support system Robin had left in place put in front of her. Unofficially, she'd been encouraged to appear in public and 'look regal and unworried'. And of course to make her mother proud, she had. After all, if the woman born one step away from being the Crown Princess of Plegia could make for such a great queen despite being raised as a commoner, Lucina could allow herself no less in her better circumstances.

As a teenager, everything had fallen apart. Lucina had suddenly needed to quickly learn to fill _both_ her father's and her mother's roles, and the latter had come quite grudgingly. Politics and strategy were not her forte. Like her father, she excelled at the other aspects of leadership. She could move a crowd. She could rally an army to fight against overwhelming odds and win. She could sift through the mires of tragedy to inspire new hope. The actual ruling of the Halidom, however, especially when facing an existential threat, had proven difficult. In the end, it had all been a waste of time. Ylisstol had been reduced to ruins and the countryside ravaged with impunity. She'd never compared favorably against her mother.

As a young adult, what remained of humanity on Ylisse and Valm had looked to Lucina for guidance, and she had lied, and lied, and lied with false words of reassurance and fake smiles. The people had needed a hero-queen, a goddess descended amongst men to fight monsters and live to tell the tale, and she had answered. Lucina had ceased to exist even to her closest friends; the Exalt had stood against Grima even as the world had fallen apart around her.

Now after weeks of being genuinely treated like a person again, Lucina had decided to dredge up old diversions. Robin, of all people, had first introduced juggling to her as a magical exercise when she'd been almost younger than she could remember. No _sane_ mage learned control by juggling fireballs, but no one would ever say that to Robin's face. Apparently, _her_ mother had taught her the same way.

Lucina smiled fondly at the memory. The practice had been worth it in the end despite how mad all the healing required had driven her aunt. She was more accurate with fire than Noire with a bow.

 _All that effort was supposed to culminate in the thoron spell, I imagine._ Lucina let her Ignis balls splash and dissipate harmlessly against her legs and the floor. _Deadly and precise. One shot, one kill._

Lucina leaned back on her hands to look up at the stars. They were brighter here in the past. She'd rarely seen them in the future, and even when they had peaked out from behind the endless gloom Grima covered the sky with, they had never sparkled quite as they had before.

 _That's one spell I don't believe I'll ever be comfortable casting. Too many bad memories…_

Sighing, Lucina pushed the thought from her mind before she started examining Ignis too closely as well. She was supposed to be relaxing. She'd be traveling again soon, off to Arena Ferox to fight for the Western Khan's right to rule.

Lucina tossed up a ball of fell fire, a second, and a third, and let her troubles slip away. Ignis was nearly invisible at night. Even with her returning muscle memory, juggling it required constant focus and left little room for stray thoughts – little, but not none, unfortunately. Her choice of venue for her solitary performance could have been better.

The exposed ground far below called out to Lucina, reminding her of what she'd buried there. A momentary smile lit up her face at the thought of some random hired hand digging up the Fire Emblem, but that would be unlikely in the extreme. She'd checked. Attleburg Arena would not be hosting an event requiring construction anytime in the foreseeable future.

"Lucina…"

Lucina twisted her head to find Owain standing but steps away from her. A smile lit up her face. He'd finally come to see her. She'd begun to worry.

"What in Naga's name are you doing?"

"Juggling." With a quick twitch of her wrist, Lucina added another ball to the mix. Two loops later, she had the timing evened out amongst all four. "Do you remember when your mother screamed loud enough at mine to be heard across Ylisstol?"

"Yes…" Owain hesitantly admitted.

Lucina gestured with her head at her balls of fire.

Aghast, Owain said, "Grima taught you to wield his cursed fire that young?"

"What?" After a moment, Lucina remembered to mention the critical difference. "Oh, no, I was using regular fireballs and reached the expected result at first. Ignis only burns what I want it to."

"I…really don't know what to say to that."

Lucina shrugged. Then with a swipe of her hand, she extinguished her fireballs, leaving her free to stand and turn to Owain. She shoved aside her own happiness at their reunion, and the Exalt spoke. "You're late."

"My apologies, Your Grace." Owain said, easily falling into dramatics as he took a knee. "I was delayed trying to understand your situation and avoid the Fell Dragon. My last encounter with him did not end well."

"No, I should say not. I acknowledge that was as much her fault as yours, however."

"Not that one. I discovered Grima casting magic upon you as you slept. He halted my attempt to intervene."

Lucina quirked an eyebrow. "When was this?"

"The night you were…indisposed."

 _Drunk,_ Lucina mentally corrected.

"I can only presume this has been a persistent and serious problem, given your association with and defense of him."

"Nonsense," Lucina protested. She hesitated a moment as she recalled that she had, embarrassingly enough, swooned upon the revelation of Robin's reclaimed personhood before truly speaking with her. But if her senses, logic, and memory were truly warped so far beyond recognition, she never would have been able to beat Lon'qu, so she pushed the concern aside. "I reconciled with Mother almost immediately after arriving in the past."

"What? How?" Owain frowned. "How would Grima know where to wait for you? Or even to expect you? _We_ didn't know when or where we'd appear."

"A lot has happened, Owain. We're not in the timeline we expected to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Mother split the timeline again coming back from…quite far into the future. There are three of her here. The youngest is her past self whose only crime is being a more suitable Fell Vessel than I am. The middle one is possessed by _our_ Grima and…is probably quite obvious about that. The eldest is the one I'm with; she turned the tables on Grima and took _him_ over in the timeline we expected to be in after our alternate selves sealed him away."

Owain had a stunned expression on his face.

"I know it's a lot to believe–"

"Please, Lucina, Cousin, Your Grace, whomever I need to speak to for you to see sense." Owain grasped one of Lucina's hands in both of his own. "You're smarter than this. Don't fall for Grima's sweet lies. Don't let him corrupt you with false smiles and insincere praise."

Lucina sighed and sat down. "Please join me, Owain. I have a feeling we might be here for some time."

And they were. Without revealing that she had actually gone through with her plan to burn her mother alive – or tried to, at least – Lucina told Owain everything that had happened since arriving in the past. She did leave out her birthday gift, however. She knew exactly what advice he would give her: head straight to Mount Prism.

"And so people have started to realise that I'm not worth challenging. I've been mostly working on my magic during the day since."

Owain shook his head in disbelief. "Lucina, there are so many holes…"

"And I shall endeavor to fill them as best as I can. You have questions. Please ask."

"You haven't convinced me that Aunt Robin ever actually existed," Owain said. "Every Grimleal record we found of her suggested that she held the spirit of Grima. If he could play the part of Robin before, he could easily do it again now."

"True," Lucina said. "For years, if I never actually believed that, then I at least found it easier to pretend I did. But none of the documents we read ever explicitly stated what it mean to bear the 'Heart of Grima', I believe is the term they used. I'm not an expert in souls, but I don't believe it's much different to the connection mine shares with Naga's. I think we both agree I'm not her."

"Perhaps, but that's not an argument I would want to stake the world on."

"Nor is the small uncertainty something I would wish to commit matricide over." Owain opened his mouth to speak, but Lucina raised a hand and cut him off. "Even if you're right, then that would still make Grima my mother. If he _wants_ to be Robin again and once more act as a force for good in the world, I have no reason to object. A goddess can do far more good in life than justice can be served in her death."

"Are you serious!"

Lucina replied sharp and crisp, "Of course I am." The _only_ people she had _ever_ advocated executing were those whose continued existence posed a threat to what little remained of humanity as a whole. "Life is still precious, Owain, even if it's more…in surplus at this point in time."

"Well even if _that's_ true," Owain said, his voice more than a little heated, "what about when he decides he _doesn't_ want to be 'good' anymore?"

Lucina quirked an eyebrow and gestured toward Falchion.

"That's assuming he _hasn't_ stabbed you in the back."

"Father, then."

"He's dead, too."

"Then Naga will find someone else. Or Grima will eventually stumble upon the domain of a stronger, less passive god."

Owain simmered for some time before asking his next question. "Suppose everything you've said is true. Why would Aunt Robin risk tampering with a timeline where we win? Grima would, but her?"

That was one of the few questions Lucina never wanted an answer to. She'd never explicitly posed it to Robin, and she doubted she ever would, because she already knew what response she'd receive. As petty as it was in the grand scheme of things, only one explanation truly made sense of why _now_ instead of _after_ Grima's defeat.

"Owain, this is…hard to speak of. Please allow me the comfort of brevity. My…other self was…not a happy woman. I had a glimpse of that, and Mother pulled me out of the darkness."

Indeed, Lucina suspected that Robin's sole purpose for being here and giving up her life and all her friends from the future was to make her daughter happy. It was burdening, in a way, but for perhaps the first time since becoming the exalt of a dead nation, Lucina had selfishly and gladly seized what was given to her without hesitation.

Owain's eyes widened in realization. He began, "Then you–" before Lucina interrupted.

"Please don't ask, Owain. Please. I don't want to talk about it."

For perhaps a minute, Owain visibly floundered for words. Lucina could admit that she'd put him in a rather cruel position, although it'd not been her intention. Eventually, he asked, "If true, then what about when you're gone and the Fell Dragon has no reason for restraint?"

"Then…"

Lucina blinked as the truth struck her. She knew now exactly why Robin had given her the Fire Emblem: demigoddesses tethered their soul to their patron god. Becoming one would render her as immortal as her mother.

"Lucina?" Owain said, pulling her from her revelation.

* * *

"Lucina?" Her expression said so much for her. Something about Owain's question had resonated deep within her.

Without warning, Lucina rose to her feet. "Forgive me, Owain, but I need to return home."

Owain reached out and grabbed Lucina's arm. "Not without an explanation. For all I know, I triggered some programmed response in you to seek out your master."

"Ah, yes, I suppose that would concern you." As Lucina ceased pulling away from him, Owain released her. "Come with me. I need to dig something up, and you can help."

"That…sounds a little ominous. If this hole becomes human-sized…"

Lucina hid a smile behind her hand, but her chuckle revealed her. "I promise it won't be."

Still wary, Owain followed Lucina into the depths of the arena to retrieve a pair of shovels. She then led him out onto the arena floor, where they unearthed a box approximately the size of a magic tome. He filled in the hole while she hugged the box to her chest with a beautiful smile he'd never seen from her.

More than curious, Owain asked, "What's in that?"

"My birthday gift from Mother," Lucina replied. She set the box down and opened it. "I've been struggling to decide what to do with it, but I now understand its purpose."

Owain glanced inside the box and inhaled sharply.

"I fear this may create a rift between us for some time," Lucina continued as she set about assembling _the complete Fire Emblem_ , "but I know what I want now. You know where I live, and you're welcome there anytime. I'll see you later, Owain."

Before Owain's brain could reengage, Lucina ran off into the night and took the Fire Emblem with her. Scolding himself for letting her get away so easily, he chased after her. By the time he made it outside, however, she had already disappeared.

Muttering a swear under his breath, Owain sprinted for Lucina's house. He would run straight into the Fell Dragon's den if he must to save her from making the biggest mistake of her life.

Owain kicked down the door and broke the lock when he arrived. No light came from inside, but he searched the house anyway. He quickly peered into each room. He barely recognised half the strange things inside, and neither Lucina nor the Fell Dragon were among those he did.

"No!"

Owain drew his sword and hacked a chair in half to vent. He had no idea where Lucina was now.

"Naga, dammit!"

For all the good it did, Owain tossed his sword against the ground and pounded a table with his fists.

 _Our Exalt has fallen._

* * *

Finally, Lucina was about to have her long awaited rematch with her father! Granted, the other early Shepherds were also present, but she would deal with them quickly before indulging in a fair contest of skill. She trembled in excitement, although one or two of her opponents clearly thought she was scared to face them alone.

Lucina chuckled as Chrom insisted they would wait for her nonexistent allies to appear. He had a fair point about the legitimacy of the match being called into question without them, but as she had none, it mattered not. The only person she would consider calling in for aid would be her mother, but that would just be _unfair_.

"We need not wait for ghosts, Your Highness," Lucina said, Falchion still at the ready. "Khan Basilio is well aware of and accepts my intent to fight alone."

"Such arrogance," Lucina heard Frederick mumble.

"Arrogance, Sir Frederick?"

Much to a giddy and impatient Lucina's satisfaction, the man in question started in surprise at being heard. Having been encouraged to show off, she decided to to just that. She tapped into the seemingly bottomless well of power her bond with her mother put at her disposal. Ignis flared into life around her. The room darkened. Shadows flickered. With any luck, Grima would hear of this and assume she had been corrupted to his side.

" **I am the wings of despair.** " Six wings of Ignis formed behind Lucina – utterly useless, but terrifying.

" **I am the breath of ruin.** " Lucina let fell fire leak from her mouth in warning; unlike Valflame, the paltry imitation of the divine dragon Salamander's fiery breath, she had full and direct access to her mother's Expiration.

" **I am daughter of the Fell Dragon, Robin, Lucina Lowell.** " A hush fell over Lucina's audience as she made the proclamation.

" **If you have the arrogance to stand against me in open combat, mortals, then have at thee!** "

* * *

In the front row of the stands overlooking the arena, Flavia said, "What! I cry foul! You can't have a fucking goddess as a champion."

Basilio chuckled, although anyone who knew him would mark it as a sign of nervousness. "Nothing in the rules explicitly says I can't."

Behind them, a new voice spoke up. "Demigoddess, actually."

Basilio turned in time with Flavia to find a woman who bore a notable resemblance to Lucina.

"Also, she's perfectly defeatable without divine assistance by a sufficiently skilled team and thus, consequently, not against your regulations. If you'll excuse me, however, I need to reprimand my daughter before the match starts and she breaks someone."

In stunned silence, Basilio watched the woman – Robin, if he heard correctly – teleport onto the arena floor right in front of his champion. She flicked Lucina on the forehead, drawing a very draconic growl from the girl.

Basilio, not tearing his eyes from the spectacle below, asked, "This is really happening, right?"

"If you mean the Fell Dragon scolding…her?" After a momentary pause, Flavia continued, "–daughter for falling into a 'power high' as they wrestle and claw at each other, then I think so."

"Huh."

Nothing more could be said. Dragons would be dragons, Basilio supposed.

"So… Grima is female. How about that?"

"I think that's a different fell dragon," Basilio countered. "My champion called her Robin." And it occurred to him that he'd been told that she was after his throne. Maybe he should have taken that warning a little more seriously. But oh well. The daughter was a good girl. No doubt the mother was, too.

"Why is Lissa casually chatting with the goddess?"

Basilio noted that the small blonde girl on Flavia's team was Princess Lissa before answering. "Well, I know Lucina has ties to the royal family," he said. "It stands to reason that her mother has more intimate ones." If nothing else, this reassured him that his country was not under the threat of a bloody coup turning it into an oppressive theocracy. _Deocracy?_

A moment passed. "This is your fault, you oaf."

"Ha! My fault I'm going to win _again_ , you mean."

Flavia clicked her tongue.

"I bet you a keg of that Valmese wine you've been hoarding that Lucina is Chrom's half-sister."

"You think that damned crusader slept with a fell dragon? Are you out of your mind?"

Basilio smirked. The ages matched perfectly. He was reasonably sure his champion was no older than she looked, too. "Scared of losing, woman?"

"As if, oaf. What are you wagering?"

Knowing that they be aiming for it regardless of the outcome of this bet, Basilio said, "I'll naturalize those two." That would prevent them from taking part in these competitions.

"Damn…" Flavia muttered. "You don't already know, do you?"

"That would be unsporting, so no."

"Then deal." A second passed. "Dammit!" Flavia pointed at Lucina. "There aren't more of her hanging around your miserable city, are there?"

Basilio laughed, deep and booming. "Not that I know of," he said, "but I'll keep my fingers crossed."

* * *

 **A/N:** Right then, that's that. As I mentioned in the first chapter, I might someday come back to this and largely write it as a comedy. I have a few good ideas, but mostly I just wanted to write this story arc for Lucina becoming a Fell Vessel by choice. Was this a good decision? Is Robin on the up and up? You decide. Personally, I like to think so, but looking back on what I wrote, most of the actions she took can be interpreted as a carefully calculated act to draw Lucina in and corrupt her. If anyone wants to run with either direction, be my guest.


End file.
